


The Island

by DecoNoir



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Action/Adventure, Depression, Drinking, F/M, Fourth Age, Gen, M/M, Orcs, Other, Porn With Plot, Romance, Valinor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-06-16 05:16:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 86,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15429804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DecoNoir/pseuds/DecoNoir
Summary: In the fourth age Thranduil lives a quiet life in Valinor, and feels depressed and out of place. Things are about to change however with a new enemy and a mysterious Island in another world. This is an AU adventure/romance story with a lot of action.





	1. Fading

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this story back in 2013, when I was quite a bit younger than I am now, and understandably I'd probably write some parts differently now. But hey, it is still ok, despite some plot holes and some slightly silly charchters. It's only been posted on FF.net so far, but now I'll post it here as well. As I start posting this story I have 36 written chapters and it's still going strong...
> 
> As usually with me, I have to point out that english is not my first language, and I don't have a BETA. There are mistakes.  
> AND I DO NOT OWN ANYRTHING BY TOLKIEN.  
> Enjoy!

He had held his breath for almost too long this time. With two hard kicks he breached the surface and gasped for air. The warm salty water burned his eyes. He swam a short distance surrounded by a few brightly colored fish that for some strange reason seemed to enjoy his company. Not many others did, he mused.

  
Finally, he put his feet down on white, soft sand and waded until he reached the shore. As always the sea had washed up a few new intricate seashells during the rainstorm last night. Calling it a storm might be an exaggeration, though. The storms along with the rain here in Valinor were always gentle, and had a tendency to hit only night time. Practical indeed, just as the never ending summer.

  
Last night the light rain had lulled him to sleep sitting in his favorite chair on the terrace. It had been a blessing of sorts. He hadn't slept like that for a very long time and was likely not going to sleep like that for a while again. He sighed and pushed all of his long and dripping wet hair behind his shoulders.

  
He picked up an unusually big white seashell. It would make a lovely toy for his granddaughter, he thought. A bathing pool for her dolls. Then he remembered that she was already an adult and had been for a long time. She worked as a healer now, Legolas had told him long ago. He had not seen her for years. He let go of the shell and it landed in the sand in the same spot where he had picked it up.

  
He sighed and walked a few steps before he sat down next to the two empty wine bottles he had finished on the beach a few days ago. As always he looked to the east over the sea for a while with sadness in his heart. Home, he thought.  
Then he closed his eyes and laid down in the warm sand and let the sun dry his body while he listened to the seagulls shrieking from the top of the high white cliffs surrounding his own beach. His Kingdom. He could not help smiling at the irony of that.

  
He could hear footsteps now. He hadn't expected visitors today, but on the other hand, he almost never did. He knew the footsteps well. He had known them since he was a little elfling, and they had not changed because the person making them hand not changed, not much anyway. He didn't bother getting up, he just turned his head and watched the silver haired elf lord walking down the path among the high, slender pine trees, his white robes billowing in the light breeze.

  
"Thranduil. I did not find you in your house, so I made an educated guess you would be here." The tall elf cast a shadow over Thranduil's face. and Thranduil sighed.

"Celeborn. What has brought you here a day like this? Is it pity, perhaps?"

  
"Don't talk like that. You know very well I have come to see a friend. You."

  
Celeborn didn't show any signs of being prepared to sit down in the sand and instead Thranduil got up on his feet.

  
"Let's go to the house. Perhaps I have something for us to drink. A bit of wine maybe." Celeborn nodded and Thranduil started walking up to the house.

  
Thranduil couldn't help feeling that this house was an empty shell. Too big for him, with a large number of empty rooms where dust was piling in the corners and the curtains and bed covers were slowly being digested by time itself. Rooms that he hadn't seen the inside of for years. A never ending number of closed doors in long, dimly lit empty halls.

  
When he came here he wanted to live like the king he thought he rightfully was. But in the end he had realized that it was all a lie. He was no king here, held no importance and had no purpose. Why keep up the charade?

  
"Why did you really come here, cousin?"

Thranduil sat down on the heavy wooden table in his combined study and bedroom and handed over a glass of red wine to Celeborn. The other elf lord hesitated to answer the question, he looked around and sipped his wine instead. The room was in a state of chaos. Books, scrolls, maps and empty and half empty wine bottles covered almost every single surface. The only corner of the room that seemed to be in perfect order was where the enormous four poster bed stood. The bed was neatly made and both the bed linen and the curtains were white and clean. 

"Do you want me to send a maid over to take care of this?" Celeborn finally said as his gaze sweep across the room.

  
"You came here to offer cleaning help?" Thranduil's laugh was dry and lifeless.

  
"No, but you can't go on like this. And you know it. You are beginning to fade, slowly but surely. Have you seen your reflection in a mirror lately? We are worried. Don't you understand?" Celeborn swallowed all the wine in his glass anxiously and looked at Thranduil.

  
Thranduil sighed. He could see nothing but sincerity in Celeborn's eyes. Slowly he slid down from the table and went to the other side of the room where he pulled down a sheet that covered a full length mirror in a heavy wooden frame. He watched his reflection in the dusty glass for a long time. The elf that looked back at him was not the one he remembered. His body looked skinny and his long blond hair dull and dry but most of all his eyes had lost their glow. His gaze had once had the power to spellbind everyone, but now his eyes were just two empty bottomless pale blue pools. He let the sheet drop down over the mirror again.

  
"You see it yourself, don't you?" Celeborn's voice sounded strangely distant.

  
"I'm still looking for a way back." Thranduil said.

  
"You know as well as I that there is no way back. And even if there was, there would be nothing left of the world we knew."

  
"Perhaps. But still I would feel more alive there. I do not belong here."

  
"Your son would miss you." Celeborn said quietly.

  
"I highly doubt that." Thranduil answered angrily. The last time he had met Legolas it had ended in a fight and after that he had not spoken to his son for years.

  
"He is worried, and deep down you know it. He just cannot stand seeing you like this. It breaks his heart. Here in the Undying Lands fading doesn't have to be anyone's fate. There are plenty of things that could bring you joy here if you opened your heart. Just come with me and stay in our home in the city for a while. You are strong, and you know that. Inside of you is still the elf that lost both his father, two sons and his wife, but still managed to live on and successfully rule a kingdom."

  
Thranduil laughed.

  
"Well, perhaps that elf has finally realized that his time has finally come. That his life has been long enough already and that there is simply not enough to live for anymore."

  
"Do not ever speak like that again. Things will change for the better, This is not Middle Earth, and no one here has to have a fate like that." Celeborn said, but there was not enough strength in his voice to sound convincing.

  
Thranduil stayed quiet. He honestly didn't care and felt that metaphysical feeling he had become more and more used to lately. He just waited for Celeborn to go. Eventually he would. Sometimes they would sit quietly for hours just sipping wine and after that the elf lord would leave and come to check upon him again a few months later. Celeborn meant well, but all Thranduil wanted was to be alone.

  
"My offer still stands." Celeborn got up on his feet. "Come and stay with my family for a while."

  
"I'll think about it." Thranduil said half halfheartedly. They both knew he was lying.

  
"Until next time my friend." Unexpectedly Celeborn hugged him and when they parted ways Thranduil was sure he could see traces of tears in the other elf's eyes. He sighed.

  
"Until next time."

  
When Celeborn left Thranduil suddenly felt an almost unnatural wave of fatigue hit him. It was only midday but the only thing he felt like doing was to crawl down between the sheets in his large bed and take a nap. Before he fell asleep, he briefly thought about the fact that he was fading. He would die, sooner or later. The fading had already begun. Death had always seemed distant to him even if he had seen plenty of it around him during his long life. Strangely, it didn't seem to bother him much, in fact he almost certainly would welcome death when it took him. He sighed and surrendered to a deep sleep.


	2. Waking Up

When Thranduil woke up from his nap, he felt  anxious to get out of bed. He started searching for ink, some paper and a quill immediately, obessed like a mad man. He had such a peculiar dream. He needed to draw it right away so he would not forget any of the details. In fact, he hadn't felt this motivated to do anything in a very, very long time.

  
He pushed away some books to clear his cluttered table and started sketching. He began with the tree that had been central in his dream. It was like the giant oak called out to him. All trees had stories to tell, but this one was different somehow. He just needed to find it, if it was real. He was pretty sure it was. This was no ordinary dream, he could feel it.

  
He started drawing the surroundings from his mind until he had a complete map. The map he'd drawn showed a cape with high cliff faces and dense forests. It did seem familiar to him, but he could not point out the location exactly. He rolled out a larger map of Tol Eressea and started comparing the coastline with his map. For some reason he had a feeling that this place could not be far away from his home. Perhaps he had even been there before?

  
After only a few minutes of searching he had found the place. A remote cape about half a days walk from his home. He started looking for his travel clothes and realized that he probably hadn't used them in a very long time. He hadn't been outside of his property for years. He simply hadn't felt the need or the desire to go anywhere. He'd been alone with his books and notes. His wine, sending him into blissful oblivion as his only escape.

  
He ripped away the sheet from the mirror once more and took a deep breath when he once again faced his reflection. He saw the same signs of fading again, but this time at least something was different. A spark had been ignited in his eyes. He shook his head. He could not understand it himself. Why did a little dream have such an impact on him? Was he perhaps finally losing it? But, it didn't feel that way. Deep in his heart he knew this was a good thing. Someone or something had reached out a helping hand to save him from drowning in the last minute. He just had to find the tree though, urgently.

  
The travel clothes hang loosely on his body. He had lost quite a lot of weight, but it was the best he could do at the moment. How long had he really lived in isolation? Hundreds of years? Thousands? It was too easy to loose track of time in this strange land. Celeborn probably knew, but it was too late to ask now. He needed to get going if he wanted to make it to the oak before nightfall.

  
He packed lightly. Some food, the little he had at home, a bottle of water and a blanket for comfort since he would most probably sleep in the woods tonight. The thought made him smile. The woods here were nothing like his beloved Greenwood,but perhaps sleeping outside high up in a tree would be pleasant? He opted to take his bow and arrows, but he felt it was useless. The woods in The Undying Lands held no beasts or any dangerous predators, and this was not a hunting trip. Surely he needed to restring his bow as well if he wanted to use it.

  
He left the house and started his hike into the woods. He avoided the road. It would be both faster for him to travel this way, and he would most likely not bump into anyone else. The area of Tol Eressea he had chosen to settle in was remote and sparsely populated. He was wrong though. It didn't take long before he sighted an elleth with long golden hair on the ground collecting herbs with a little elfling strapped to her back in a harness. It was his neighbor Tildara.  
His closest neighbors were a couple who lived in a simple cottage about a mile from his house. Elaron and Tildara. They were descendants of the first elves to awaken and had journeyed together to The Undying Lands and settled on Tol Eressea where they had lived ever since in the same spot.

  
He felt a sting of guilt for not visiting them for so long. He had neglected them as he had everyone else in his. He liked them, they were simple people, but yet old and wise beyond most elves. They kept to themselves mostly. Some mockingly called Tildara a sorceress and recommended he'd stay away from her and her husband, but he had never listened. Elaron and Tildara were good people. He just didn't want to meet anyone at the moment.

  
"Thranduil!" Tildara looked up at him with a large smile, a smile that faded as soon as she saw the state he was in. She quickly got up on her feet and walked up to him. Without a word she put her palm on his forehead. Thranduil felt a warm feeling emanating from her as she touched him and he closed his eyes. Tildara gasped.

  
"I thought you were fading" She whispered. "But somehow your life force has been almost completely restored. I've never seen anything quite like it. The ways of the Valar are indeed mysterious. You should thank them."

  
She let her hand slide down from Thranduil's forehead and a smile again graced her face.

  
"It's not my habit to thank the Valar." Thranduil answered with a smile.

  
"I know. You are a stubborn elf, but sometimes it might be time wise to change."

  
"Perhaps. How are you and your husband doing?"

  
"We are well, my friend. We have been blessed with yet another elfling, as you can see. Our seventh and our first boy. Little Tharion is the new light of our lives."

  
Thranduil looked over Tildara's shoulder at the baby. He could hardly be more than two years old and Thranduil could not help but to smile when the little boy opened his big storm gray eyes to look at him.

  
"He is a beautiful child. Takes after his mother. You are truly lucky. Children are the greatest blessing of all."

  
"Indeed they are." Tildara smiled. "Even if your life force is almost restored you still have a lot of healing to do, from what I can see, both body and mind. I could give you a healthy start with the body at least. I have a stew boiling at home and you are welcome to join me and my husband for a meal, if you'd like to."

  
"I was actually on my way somewhere, but I guess it would be rude to say no." For the first time in a very, very long time a bright smile lit up his face. A smile that came straight from the heart. Even if he was in a hurry to find the tree he felt both thankful and happy. His stomach longed for a good meal and truth to be told he thought he would enjoy the company.

  
The cottage and the surrounding garden where Tildara and Elaron lived was located high up on a cliff overlooking the sea. It was fairly small and simple, but had a homely and warm feeling to it. Elaron was mending one of his fishing nets when they arrived outside the cottage. He too greeted Thranduil warmly and while Tildara set the table in the garden and Elaron finished with his net they let Thranduil hold Tharion.

  
While the elfling truly was adorable he also made Thranduil  think of Legolas on several occasions. When he came back, hhad to contact his son. Even if the two of them were as different as two elves could possibly be they were still flesh and blood, and he loved his son more than anything even if Legolas always seemed to think differently. And, maybe Legolas was right to an extent. Maybe Thranduil had been a bit too hard on Legolas, and maybe he had not always expressed how much he really loved his son. When he came back home he would try to make things right. Maybe it wasn't possible after many millennia of a dysfunctional relationship, but he would try at least .

  
"You said you were going somewhere when I invited you for dinner." Tildara said and put some more stew on Thranduil's plate. He had eaten two portions already, but it felt like he could eat much more. His appetite was slightly embarrassing, but he had not had a proper cooked meal for a long, long time. He hoped Elaron and Tildara would understand.

  
"Indeed I am." He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should tell them about the tree and the dream, but he figured that in the end at least Tildara would probably find out anyway. In many ways she reminded him of Galadriel, but she clearly lacked the ambition to rule that The Lady had. One thing was clear though, Tildara could see much more than the average elf.

  
"I am going to this place." Thranduil showed the couple the map that he had drawn and Elaron lifted an eyebrow.

  
"It is indeed a very strange place you have chosen to visit." Elaron said. "I hunt there, plenty of game. Birds, deer, and no one else hunting. My wife sometimes accompanies me because she claims that some of the plants that grow there are unique and can be found nowhere else. And then, one day I found the book."

  
"What book?" Thranduil became more and more curious.

  
"Wait a minute. I'll get it for you." Elaron hurried into the cottage and Tildara smiled.

  
"He has been thinking a lot about the book since he found it." Tildara said. "But one thing is for certain. We have never seen that tree you have drawn. An oak tree like that is not something one would miss."

  
Thranduil nodded.

  
"I had a dream this morning. I need to find that tree."

  
"And perhaps you will. I think you are right to trust your instincts Thranduil. The dream most certainly is an important one, and even more so because you were fading, but suddenly your life force has been restored. You have been given a second chance and I think all of this has a deeper meaning to it."

  
"Perhaps." Thranduil answered.

  
"Here it is." Elaron handed over an odd looking book. The covers were a blue fabric and the ridge a soft blue leather. The book was small and when he opened it the pages were covered with blue hand writing, but he couldn't read a word. The letters were unfamiliar to him as well as the feel of the paper and the strange ink used for writing down the words.

  
Thranduil shook his head in disbelief.

  
"This is indeed very strange. It is not written in any known alphabet and everything about it seems out of place. I've simply never seen anything like it."

  
"Maybe you'll find the answered." Tildara said.

  
Thranduil looked up at the sky. It was already late afternoon and he had stayed here far longer than he had intended. He would prefer making it to the cape before nightfall, but then he'd have to hurry. The time he had spent with his neighbors and their little son had been good for him, but seeing the family also ignited a deep sadness. He was pretty sure this was why he had stopped visiting them in the first place. They had what he had always wanted; A love would last to the end of this world. A life in peace, harmony and simplicity. He never had anything like that, and for the most part he had himself to blame. It was painful, but it was the truth.

  
"I think it is time for me to go. It's late and I have a long walk ahead of me. I thank you for inviting me to your home and sharing your food with me. It's something I will not forget easily."

  
"You are welcome back any time." Tildara said with a smile."Take this, it will bring you luck and make your journey to the cape shorter." She handed over a white rabbit's foot on a silver chain.

  
"Thank you!" Thranduil said simply and started walking.

* * *

  
A long time Tildara watched the tall elf's back as he left, walking towards the treeline. Then she sighed, picked up the elfling and walked around the house to the backside where a small path paved with white stones led into the woods. She walked until she reached the clearing with the spring. She carefully filled an old pot with water and then poured the content into a stone basin on a pedestal.

  
She placed little Tharion on her hip and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she could see a picture forming on the surface. She could clearly tell that it was indeed the Valar that had spared Thranduil's life, just as she had expected, but why she was not allowed to see. Clearly he was of great importance, and so was the journey he had just embarked on.

  
Then the pictures suddenly changed, showing her scenes from what looked like a dark and terrible future. Cities burning, dead bodies everywhere and dark, terrible creatures the like she had never seen. She pulled the elfling closer to her and she had to force herself to keep her eyes open. Then suddenly the visions disappeared and the water surface was calm and clear only reflecting herself and the surrounding trees. She shivered and poured the water back into the spring where it came from.

  
Slowly she walked back to the house. Something was very wrong, but the feeling was not new to her. For a long time now things had not felt the same as they used to in Valinor.


	3. The Island

It felt like Thranduil had only walked for about two hours when he reached the cape. It was quite peculiar and he looked down at the rabbit's foot hanging around his neck. Was this perhaps what Tildara had meant when she claimed it would make his journey shorter? He had never liked sorcery nor trusted in it, but this time he was at least thankful for the gift. Tildara must indeed really have believed in the things she said if she wanted to give him a powerful gift like this.

Thranduil had never been the one to either thank or trust in the Valar. He thought he had seen too much to stop believing in their intervention. He had lost far too much and the only thing he believed in was hard work, passion and determination. That was what had kept him going until now. Still, his miraculous recovery was a mystery to him, why would the Valar care about saving him of all people? He was pretty much as far from the ideal elf one could get, and what made them think they could toy with his life? He would have welcomed death and had never prayed for a miracle like this. Only fools did.

He sighed and looked around. As everywhere else around the area where he lived the forest was open with a lot of space between the high and slim tree trunks. Like a colonnaded hall of living trees with a floor of soft, green moss. The setting sun gave everything a soft golden color and a peacock looked curiously at him from behind a tree. His spirit animal, as  Legolas used to mockingly say.

"Today is your lucky day, little one." He said to the peacock.

"I don't have my bow. If I had you would be a very good candidate for dinner."

Just the thought of food made him feel hungry again. Extremely hungry. He guessed his body needed more nutrition now that he was apparently recovering. The food would have to wait though. He wanted to find the oak first, if it indeed existed.

He had roamed around the cape for a while when finally caught a glimpse of what looked like a very big and very old tree trunk, and there it was. Standing in the middle of a small clearing he found the mighty oak. It made his heart beat a little faster. The tree was exactly like in his dream, huge and old with a faint glow about it. He slowly ran his hand over the rough bark and closed his eyes to hear what the powerful oak had to tell him. He stood like that for a while. With both hands on the tree trunk and eyes closed.

The energy that emanated from the tree was like nothing he ever felt in a tree before. It was unique, and both savage and wise in a curious combination. The tree told him about another world, a world where he existed at the same time as he existed here in The Undying Lands. A world full of life that sounded very much like the beloved Middle Earth he had left behind so long ago. The tree asked him if he wanted to see this other world.

"Take me there." He mentally answered, but added. "Can I go back here?" He could not stop thinking about Legolas and he wanted to make things right with his son.

"Yes, you can go back and forth any time you choose. You just have to touch me and wish for it." The tree answered.

"Then take me there" Thranduil said.

He might just get it over with, since this was without a doubt the reason why he was here in the first place. Someone wanted him to go to this place and honestly, he had nothing better to do. He would let the Valar get what they wanted this time and he in turn would get the possibility of seeing something new. He could not help feeling a tingle of excitement.

The first thing he felt was that the air around him was cooler. When he opened his eyes he was standing in a clearing almost identical to the one he had left behind. The only difference was that the ground was wet and there were traces of snow here and there. His breath turned to smoke when he exhaled, but being an elf the cold didn't bother him. He smiled.

"Morning, early spring." He thought. He could feel it in the air. Time must pass differently in this place he concluded. It had been early evening in Valinor but here it was early morning and the sunrise colored the sky in bright shades of red, orange and yellow. Thranduil took a deep breath. This was a world very much alive, much like Middle Earth, but yet not. He could smell it in the air and feel it all around him. This place was different, but he was pretty sure he liked it. At least there were seasons here he thought, not the static never ending summer.

Spring had always been his favorite season. Seeing the forest come to life again after a long sleep, not much really compared to that. He thought about how he used to decorate his crown with the earliest spring flowers. It was beautiful then. He wondered where he had put his crown. He hadn't used it for centuries, not even looked at it, in fact.

The oak looked almost the same on this side besides that it had a very peculiar blue rope hanging from one of its lower branches. He curiously touched the rope. The material was unfamiliar to him.

"The children used to play here a lot. They liked me, I think." The Oak said.

"Used to?"

"Yes, they are all grown up now, and have better things to do than swinging on ropes and climbing old oak trees, I imagine." The Oak sighed.

"Mortals?"

The oak didn't answer his question, and instead he asked:

"Where are we exactly."

"The realm is Earth, and the place you are standing on is The Island."

"This is an island?"

"Yes. Why don't you go and take a look around?" "

The clearing was surrounded by high pine trees and two other oaks that were slightly smaller and much, much younger than the Big Oak. Thranduil decided that he liked them both though. They were proud and beautiful trees, and even if they didn't have an own voice like the Big Oak he could feel their energy and life force strong beneath his hands. When he looked up in the crown of the bigger of the two oaks he noticed something very odd though. High up was something that looked like a platform built by an elf. It was very well concealed, and he would never have noticed it if the tree had leaves and he hadn't been very used to these kind of structures. For a mortal it probably looked just like a part of the tree if he or she even noticed it.

Thranduil was an experienced climber and it took him just a few minutes to reach up to the platform. It was old and the wood fragile in places, but it was without a doubt built by an elf. There was nothing that could tell him who had built it but it was clear that it had been abandoned for quite a long time. He was puzzled. An elf had visited the island before, but when and why? He decided to ask the Oak.

"You have an awful lot of questions Thranduil Oropherion The Oak said."

"Can you blame me?" Thranduil answered slightly annoyed.

"No, I suppose not." The Oak sighed. "Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to answer most of them. I can however say that you are correct. There has been an elf on this island before you.

"Not allowed by whom?"

"I think you know the answer to that already."

"The Valar." "Yes, the Valar."

"The Valar be damned." Thranduil said, mostly to himself.

Thranduil sighed and went on with his mission to look around the island. He quickly found out that it was not a large island by any means. In fact, he managed to walk around it fairly quickly. On the south and west side all he could see was the endless waves of the sea, but to the north and east was what he believed to be the mainland. By boat it would not take long to reach the coast, and on the northeast side, he could see what he thought was a town or a city. The houses were strange, was the first thing he noticed. There were no high cliffs on the island, just long empty beaches littered with driftwood and seaweed. In fact the whole island seemed to be like a giant pile of sand that someone had poured into the ocean. Behind the sand dunes the pine trees grew like a protective shield for the clearing with the Big Oak against the cold wind from the sea.

Thranduil liked the place. It was beautiful in a raw and harsh way that very much suited his mood. The only thing he didn't find to his liking was the fact that he found one of the strange houses that the people of this world built. It was a rather large wooden villa painted in yellow and white located on the beach in a bay that kept it protected from the wind. He could see no sign of the owners though. There was no boat by the pier and when he looked into one of the windows he could only see furniture covered with white sheets, piles of dust in the corners and dead potted plants. Much like his own house. It was not a home, just an empty shell.

The empty house might not have told him anything about if or when it's owner would return or who they were, but one thing it could tell him. The book that Elaron had found had to be from this place. There was a sign on the door written in the same alphabet. What the letters meant he had no idea about, but the writing was the same. Did this mean that someone had crossed over to Valinor from this world? And who was the other elf that had built the platform? Was he or she still here?

There were too many questions that needed answers, but the Oak was unwilling to help him. All of this he thought about while eating the mediocre food he had brought with him. The dry crackers and the two apples were by no means enough to satisfy his appetite and there seemed to be little he could eat on the island since he neither had his bow or any kind of fishing equipment. He had to get back home to pick up some supplies he figured. Even if he very much disliked the idea of playing it straight into the hands of the Valar he had to come back here. There were too many questions he needed an answer to and truth to be told he wanted to know why he of all elves had been directed here. 


	4. Cara

She rinsed her face with ice cold water. Then she stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long time. Red eyes, dry lips, pale. She realized there was no towel left in the bathroom and that the water had run down her cleavage. She tried her best to wipe her face with her sleeve.

  
"Cara, Cara where are you ?!" She heard her sister's voice echoing in the empty apartment.

  
"Just a moment!" She answered and continued staring at her reflection.

  
"We need to hurry. We have to sign the papers at the bank in half an hour, and you know how the traffic is this time of the day. Don't you?"

  
"Yes I do!" Was her only answer.

She sighed and tied up her messy blond curls in a bun on her head. She had to do something about the hair later, but now she couldn't care less. It was painful to leave the apartment behind and the hangover didn't make things better. She picked up her handbag from the toilet seat and opened the door. Outside her sister stood with that unmistakable look of disapproval on her face. Even if Evelyn was much shorter than her, she had always had a way of making Cara seem so very little. But in a way it was no surprise. Evelyn was the older sister, and also the sister that had done everything in life the "right" way. At 32 she was married, had two kids, a job that paid well, a Clean and perfect home and respectable friends. She was not the screw up that people kept talking about, Cara was.

  
"Feeling bad?" Coming from Evelyn it sounded more like a statement than a question but Cara answered anyway.

  
"Could be worse." She tried to sound like she didn't care, but the truth was she felt like she'd been run over by a truck.

  
"Let's go then." Evelyn led the way.

  
Cara had never liked empty apartments, and especially not this one. Full of sadness and lost memories. Leaving this apartment behind was hard. The two sisters had practically grown up here. Cara had always loved spending her time after school with her grandmother. She had made her feel loved in a way that her mother was not able to, and her father didn't want to do. Now the apartment was emptied and to be sold. She took a last look at the hall and sighed before Evelyn locked the door behind her. She sighed.

  
"Hey, it's just an apartment" Evelyn said and started walking down the stairs.

  
"Not just any apartment" Cara whispered to herself while her heels echoed against the stairs.

  
"You are such a child you know that? Will you ever grow up?" Evelyn suddenly said and turned around to face her younger sister. 

  
"I'm just sad to see the apartment go. It has been an important place for us both. Don't you feel that way too?" Cara just wanted Evelyn to stop. In a way she knew Evelyn was right. She was indeed a person very much ruled by her emotions and she knew she didn't behave like a 28 year old woman most of the time. But this was not the right time to bring it up. Sometimes Evelyn's lack of emotion and constant belittling simply made her go crazy!

  
"You will have The Island! The whole fuckin Island! How that is even possible? Why did she want you to have it? You have never done anything to deserve it. Who visited grandmother every day during the last years of her life? It was me! And you dare show up today like this, a hungover whiny mess."

  
Cara just closed her eyes and tried to breathe steadily. Yes, she might not have behaved like the ideal granddaughter, but she was sorry for that at least. She almost wanted to scream that Evelyn could have the Island if she wanted it so damn much, but then she pulled herself together and said:

  
"So this is what it is all about? You are jealous because I get The Island. Remind me, weren't you the one who never wanted to spend the holidays there? And, by the way you will get the villa up north that is worth just as much, so why are you complaining?"

  
" I am not jealous! It is because you screw everything up! You will not be able to keep The Island for long, and you know that. You can't handle money, you can't handle yourself! Tell me, how will you take care of a whole island? You do not deserve The Island."

  
Cara didn't have much to say, she never had when her sister started her rants. Inside she wanted to kick Evelyn in her face, cause damn, she deserved it for being such a bitch. But, on the other hand there was some truth to what she said. Cara knew she couldn't handle money, and she knew she was alone and it would be a challenge taking care of a place like The Island. She might have lived a crazy life before, but she had changed, she hoped at least. This time it would be different, she swore to herself. She loved The Island and she would prove her sister wrong.

  
The two sisters, Cara tall and blond and Evelyn short and dark haired walked side by side to Evelyn's car without saying a word or even looking at each other. Cara dressed in sky high heels, black skinny jeans and a short fur jacket and Evelyn in comfortable and practical sneakers, blue jeans and a puffer jacket. It was late March, but to Cara it still felt incredibly cold. She pulled the open fur coat closer around her body and shivered.

  
Luckily the affairs in the bank office were fast taken care of and even if it felt like she lost a lot by selling the apartment it sill felt good to have what felt like limitless funds on her account. Her goodie, goodie sister transferred a lot of her share to her kids. It was to be expected. Cara had no kids to save money for, and no plans of having any either. People like her hardly became good mothers anyway. There were a whole lot of options how to spend money, and even if she shouldn't go shopping the thought of it made her heart race. Just for today she would give herself the satisfaction of buying some pretty new stuff, after that she would stop. Just today, then no more shopping.

  
Cara felt like a whole different person when she was no longer around Evelyn, and the afternoon went on like she was walking in a dream of pretty clothes, shoes and bags. Buying beautiful things made her feel happy, special and wanted in an unconditional way that nothing else ever could.

  
When she was younger men had made her feel wanted and special, but she had figured out long ago that it all came with a price. Most, if not all of her former boyfriends had treated her like a piece of meat or as arm candy to show off to shallow friends. Maybe she had herself to blame by being too shallow herself and choosing the wrong guys, but the result was the same anyway. She had given up on finding love. Love was for lucky fools or simple idiots who were stupid enough to mistake the desires of the flesh for real feelings.

  
Even now with a hangover, her hair a mess and no make up, she could see men staring at her when she walked down the streets with her hands full of shopping bags. Let them stare, she thought. She was no foolish girl anymore, she knew very well that the only thing they wanted to do was to fuck her, plain and simple. She knew she was beautiful and she was lucky to still look younger than her years, even if she didn't deserve it after living the kind of life she had lived.

  
When she finally came home to her apartment it was late in the evening and the first thing she did was to throw away all the recipes from her shopping binge. She didn't want to be reminded of how much she had really spent, it was enough to know that she had bought herself almost a whole new wardrobe and that she shouldn't have done it.

  
She poured herself a  really big glass of wine to relieve some of the guilt she felt and then she opened her computer. Today she would start writing her book. She had planned it ever since she came back home from London a year ago, but never really had the right motivation to start. Maybe she hesitated for so long because she would have to remember things she really didn't want to remember? At least that was what her therapist always told her. After her shopping binge, however she simply had to do something productive to make herself feel a bit more worthy. She sighed.

  
Cara had started modeling at an early age. First it was just small extra jobs here and there, but when she was sixteen, her agency wanted to send her to Milan. They thought she could make it as a runway model. Her parents had refused, but as soon as she was eighteen and her parents no longer had a say in the matter she had left. School had never been the place she wanted to be and the modeling gave her the money she wanted. She had never really made it as a model though. She had work, but it was not exactly the Vogue covers that she had dreams of. More often it was mail order catalogs and other crappy work. She still made her own money, and even if she was no supermodel she partied like one for sure. She had spent ten years moving around from city to city in Europe working and partying hard. Some periods of that time almost seemed like a blur to her and maybe it was a good thing? After all she had done and seen things that she would rather not have.

  
A year ago things had finally taken it's toll on her and he had a nervous breakdown. Somewhere in the back of her head, she realized that she could not go on living like she had. It was no real life and she had never learned to live like an adult person should, but she was working on that now. Or at least tried to do so. She was seeing a therapist and trying to grow as a person, but it was hard. She sometimes wished Evelyn would give her some credit for that, but the older sister was the way she was and deep down Cara knew they would never fully understand each other. They were too different.

  
Her therapist had recommended her to write  her life story to get things more into perspective and Cara herself had taken the idea a step further. She would write a real book that she hoped she could get someone to publish. She figured that sex, drugs and rock n' roll always sold, so why not try to earn some money from her own misery?

  
The sad fact, that her grandmother had passed away and left The Island to her might prove to be a good thing for her writing at least. She had always loved the place and being out in nature far away from the city would help her in the creative process of Writing, she figured. As soon as it was a bit warmer she would make her first trip to The Island.


	5. Vanity and Desire

The following seven weeks passed quickly. Thranduil spent most of his time on The Island and he had to admit it had a very positive effect on him. He delighted in all the small changes he could see in nature, every day something was new. It might just be a new bug crawling up a tree trunk or a change in the color of the leaves. How he had missed the changing of the seasons! It made him feel warm and alive in a way he thought he would never experience again.

  
He had spent a lot of time repairing the old platform in the oak tree. But building and repairing was not one of his greatest talents, he had to admit. As a king he was used to other people doing such mundane things for him. After a while and a few mistakes though, the platform was in acceptable condition. He had somewhere to sleep and store his belongings and that made things easier and more pleasant.

  
When he was not doing work on the platform, he hunted or fished. There were deer on The Island and plenty of birds. He found that he gained back more and more of his strength every day and that fact alone pleased him. Because of the The Island he had found a new will to live. There was the simple delight of the nature around him, and also mysteries that waited to be solved.

  
When it came to finding answers to the questions he had things were progressing slower than he had hoped. He had searched the area for clues left behind by the other elf that had originally built the platform but so far there were none. He had also not seen any sign of the owners of the yellow house. He saw ships and boats pass by now and then, very strange, noisy and unappealing once, mostly, but no one had yet visited The Island.

  
The mortals, humans, in this world seemed very different from the once that he had met in Middle Earth, but yet they were very much the same. Reckless and sometimes very cruel, but also unbelievably innovative as humans tended to be. He had learned a lot about the Earth mortals, and what they called their "technology" from his long conversations with the Big Oak.

  
Thranduil couldn't help thinking that if the mortals in Middle Earth had progressed in the same way as the people here, they had probably become just as detached from nature as they seemed in this world. The greatest weakness in the race of men, according to himself, had always been that they seemed to think they could bend nature to their will and own the land.

  
As the days went by Thranduil became more and more certain that he would not find any leads to what happened to or who the other elf on The Island was. He figured that the best way to get somewhere would probably be on the other side in Valinor. He also needed to get back and take care of another thing he had put off for too long. He wanted to talk to Legolas and try to repair their relationship.

  
It was no easy task, but he would be the one to reach out a hand and hopefully make his son realize that he was sorry for everything that had happened between them. After all, even if Legolas had behaved very stupidly at times, most of the blame was still on himself. He was not the best of fathers, but there was no way to turn back time.  Damn, he would even apologize to that daughter in law if that was what it took to get Legolas back into his life.

  
During one of his visits Celeborn had told Thranduil that Legolas and his wife had another elfling. A boy. Thranduil had no idea how old the boy was now, but he wanted so see his grandson and also meet his granddaughter Milwen again. He wanted to have a family. He wanted to be a good grandfather , teach small elflings to use the bow and celebrate birthdays. He simply wanted to feel like he was loved and needed by someone.

  
Two days later he was back in his house. The place looked the same as always. It was a beautiful house he had to admit. He had liked it from the start, but now it only reminded him of the countless years he had wasted by being in the sorry state he had been in. He did not have any idea about how long he had existed like that, and he was not sure he wanted to find out either. Thranduil sighed.

  
He started by cleaning what had been his combined bedroom and study. He wanted to make it simply a bedroom again. He opened up another room and made it his study. He moved furniture around and organized all his maps, scrolls and books neatly on shelves. His new study was a light and organized room and a good environment for work.

After that, he moved some furniture to his bedroom and redecorated  with the few textiles that he found in his house that were not too brittle with old age. He needed to get new things and he needed to hire someone to take care of the house again he realized.

  
All the furniture he deemed to be in too bad shape to save or repair he carried down to the beach and as the pile he created grew higher his heart felt lighter in his chest. He also topped the pile with a large amount of his own notes. Over the years he had spent hours, weeks and years studying all possible sources of literature to help him find a way back to Middle Earth. His room had been full of notebooks and sheets filled with crazy theories and dark and delirious diary notes that made no sense. For the first time he realized how far gone he had really been and it made him shiver.

  
In the evening on the third day back in his house he burned everything he had carried out. The bonfire lit up his beach and he watched the sparks fly and felt the heat tickle his skin.

  
"And, there it goes." He said loudly to himself and took a sip from his wine bottle while the material reminders of one of the darkest periods of his life burned to ashes. For the first time since he had been miraculously "cured" he really felt thankful from the bottom of his heart that the Valar had saved him.

The next morning he dressed for travel. He concluded that even if he was slightly thinner than he used to he no longer looked like the pathetic wreck he had seen in the mirror last time. He was happy that his son didn't have to see that sorry excuse of an elf that had stared back at him only two month ago.

  
The thought of meeting Legolas made him nervous, an he felt ashamed of it. This was his son after all. He had known him for thousands of years, and even if their relationship had been a bit more strained and complicated than he wanted they were still flesh and blood and that was all that really mattered in the end. He sighed and walked out.

  
The journey to Avallone, the main city of Tol Eressea was uneventful. He bought a horse in a village to make his journey faster and the feeling of riding again put a smile on his face. The freedom and the wind in his hair made his heart beat faster. In Avallone he stayed at an inn for a few days and had some new clothes made for him before finally boarding a ship with the mainland of Aman as the destination.

  
Thranduil's final destination was Valmar where he had two reasons for going. The first being Legolas and the second to visit the royal archives in search for the elf that had once lived on The Island. Thranduil knew that it was quite unusual for elves to simply disappear into thin air in Valinor. In rare cases, accidents happened during hunting trips and such, but then the bodies were usually found after a while. The actual cases with elves simply disappearing were only a few over the last millennium, Thranduil had learned when he visited the local archive in Avallone. The timid elf in the archive had referred him to the main archive in Valmar where such records were kept. Thranduil knew the chances were slim that he would find any real leads this way, but at least he would try.

  
A few days later when he arrived in Valmar, where it was hot and the sun was shining from a cloudless blue sky. He felt very lost and alone among the ancient and indescribably beautiful buildings. He had never been  fond of the capital even if the beauty of the city was undeniable. The streets were filled with elves. During his days of isolation he could go months or even years without seeing anyone and now being surrounded by people on all sides made him feel totally overwhelmed.

  
Thranduil escaped to the nearest inn that looked respectable enough for him and got a room on the third floor. He sighed. Looking down at the people in the street seemed much less intimidating than being surrounded by them. The room lacked a bit of personality, but was impeccably clean and the bed was soft and very much to his liking. He smiled when he caught himself taking note of what the elves in the street were wearing. Maybe vanity wasn't such a bad trait after all, even if his son seemed to think so? Thranduil was the person he was, and being him included being slightly vain and concerned about both the way he was dressed and the way he looked. For him this was only another sign that he was slowly getting back to his normal self after years of neglect.

  
The next day, after sleeping until noon it was finally time to confront Legolas. Thranduil took a bath and got dressed before walking to the part of the city where he knew his son lived. This time he felt a bit less intimidated by the people in the streets, but it might possibly have been because his thoughts were on Legolas. He pondered if buying a present for his son would be a good idea, but then he decided against it. Legolas was not the type to be impressed by trinkets, the best thing he could do was just to be straight forward and honest, and after that it was up to Legolas to deside what to do.

  
Thranduil was lost in his thoughts until a dark haired elleth passed him on the street and caught his attention. She looked at him, up and down, with something that looked suspiciously like lust in her eyes and her plump rosy lips turned into a smile when he passed her. He returned the smile and could not help looking back when she had passed him. She was indeed beautiful and the way her curvy hips moved seductively under the fabric of her dress ignited something inside of him that he hadn't felt for a very long time.

  
He cursed the fact that he had important things to do. If he wasn't on the way to see Legolas, he would gladly have stopped to ask for her name and if he could see her later. The elleth looked over her shoulder and smiled again like that was exactly what she wanted too. Thranduil shook his head and continued on. He had always been shameless when it came to women in his past life, and a younger Thranduil would no doubt have gotten exactly what he wanted. Now he had other things on his mind, and what his body wanted had to wait. The thought of the elleth's hungry eyes still had a pleasant effect on him, he had to admit.

  
After quite a long walk uphill he finally saw the house where his son lived. It was rather large and quite luxurious even by his standards. Legolas had certainly done well, or at least financially married well. His wife was the daughter of a very powerful royal advisor in Valmar and she was born and raised in Valinor. In Thranduil's opinion, she was a horrible spoiled brat with no clue of what life was really like. She had absolutely nothing to offer his son, besides her wealth and her pampered beauty. That unpopular opinion had been the final blow to the relationship between him and Legolas.

  
Thranduil sighed and lifted his hand to knock on the heavy door.


	6. Sins of the Father

The last six weeks of Legolas' life had been all but good. It all started the day he came home and found his wife Enelya sitting at the dining table with a scroll in front of her, her father standing behind her and her mother sitting next to her holding her hand. The room was so quiet and the air so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Legolas had stopped dead in the door, heart pounding in his chest. Deep inside, he knew what was coming, but he still could not believe it.

  
"Our marriage is over." Enelya said coldly.

  
She didn't show any sign of emotion in her face, but her mother on the other hand was sobbing like a child. Probably mostly out of shame, Legolas guessed. The two ladies still looked impeccable , dressed in expensive jeweled silk gowns and with their hair done up in the latest styles in fashion in Valmar. They looked more like they were going to a party than signing divorce papers. Maybe they were, after they were done here? Even if time had changed the customs of the eldar a great deal a divorce was very much the scandal of the century in Valmar. Only a handful of cases were even known.

  
Legolas shivered. He had hoped for a long time that it wouldn't come to this. He knew right from their wedding night that their relationship wasn't truly what he had hoped for. He wanted to bond with her, but she was not willing. Still, they had two children and a marriage lasting eight hundred years behind them. Did that count for nothing?

  
"Legolas Thranduilion, you will sign this or..." Enelya's father said in a threatening voice.

  
"But, what about Fëanáro?" Legolas heart was beating violently in his chest. He could deal with a divorce, and even accept it, but losing the boy was not an option!

  
"Read the agreement, yourself. You may keep the boy if you wish, but if you do, you will lose the house and all material possessions and funds not in your possession before the marriage.

  
Legolas felt ill. It would leave him left with almost nothing with a son to feed. Legolas had a sneaking suspicion that it was not only his wife who had written the divorce papers. His father in law had never liked him. In fact, he had told Legolas many times what a disgrace it was for them to have a barbaric Sindarin elf from some obscure realm in Middle Earth marrying into a prominent family like theirs. Legolas sighed.

  
"I will accept. I'll do anything as long as I get to keep Fëanáro." Legolas said.

  
"You will leave this house in two months time, or you will be forced to move, is that clear? After that it will be sold." Enelya said and Legolas wondered how she could stay so calm when she had just lost her son, but then again, she had never been the one to express much interest in their children, and certainly not in their younger one.

  
Legolas was furious. He had known for quite some time that his marriage was a failure, but the fact that his wife was this heartless came as a surprise to him. Many things had surprised him greatly when he came to Valinor, but especially the moral standards were very different here than they had been in Middle Earth. In his view the elves seemed to become more and more like the race of men. Or, rather taking some of the worst traits of the humans and making them their own. The elves in Valinor had for a very long time had the luxury not to care about their survival. Instead the pursuit of things like wealth, power had become more important.

  
Legolas signed the divorce papers that day. He had only seen his wife twice since. Both times she came with a whole squad of servants who emptied the house into caskets and bags and carried out furniture. The house became emptier and emptier and Legolas grew more desperate. He had no good and honest answers to give his fifteen year old son why his mother was suddenly gone from their lives or where they were going next. Until the message from Lord Elrond arrived.

  
Legolas sighed and picked up a book from a table. He was packing the few things that belonged to him into saddlebags. Fëanáro was already in New Imladris and the next morning Legolas would also leave the house in Valmar for good. At first he had been ashamed to accept the help Elrond had offered him, but he had realized that he didn't have much of a choice. He had to swallow his pride and accept the position of an archery instructor for the elflings in New Imladris. It was clearly out of pity that Elrond had given him the job since he already had a very good archery instructor.

  
Pity or not Legolas needed a place to stay and New Imladris was a good place for Fëanáro to grow up. He would do everything in his power to be a good father. He would always put his sons needs first and raise him himself unlike his own father had done.

  
Speaking of his father. Thranduil had been the reason why Elrond had sent for Legolas in the first place. Apparently the elf lord had received word from Celeborn on Tol Eressea that Thranduil was ill. Fading, the message said. Reluctantly Legolas had taken Fëanáro and traveled to New Imladris to see what news Lord Elrond had about his father. Thranduil was his flesh and blood after all.

  
Elrond had chosen the location of New Imladris well. With his eyes half closed and a bit of a stretch of his imagination Legolas could almost feel like he was back in Middle Earth when he entered the valley. In the three thousand years Elrond had spent in Valinor, most of his time had been used to create something that seemed almost like a replica of his beloved home in Middle Earth. Legolas could not help feeling both nostalgic and a bit sad. So many memories of his former life had come back to haunt him, both good and bad.

  
The first elf to greet him was Elrohir, who strangely was not accompanied by his brother. Legolas had met the twins countless times, and they were always together. Elrohir looked tired and when Legolas asked where his brother was the answer he got puzzled him greatly.

  
"My brother is gone. He disappeared five years ago."

  
It surprised Legolas greatly and now he could truly see that Elrohir looked older somehow. Not physically of course, but his storm gray eyes had lost some of their youthful essence and life. It made Legolas shiver.

  
"I am sorry to hear that." Legolas finally said after a long silence.

  
"So am I." Elrohir said, mostly to himself. "You know Legolas, when we first came here from Middle Earth, we thought this was paradise, but I think most of us have been more or less disappointed. Just look what my father has created here, a slightly soulless replica of what was. Nothing is quite as we expected it to be, and I think you know that too. Don't you?"

  
Legolas nodded. He knew all too well what Elrohir spoke of. It was not that his life in Valinor had been all bad, but things were not as he had expected them to be. He had never found the peace in his heart that had been promised him, this place had instead made him feel stretched out somehow, like his life was more a dream than reality.

  
"Welcome Legolas!" Elrond seemed cheerful when he greeted Legolas and showed him to his study where Lord Erestor and Elrohir joined them. The advisor and Lord Elrond looked exactly like they had for as long as Legolas remembered. Even their style of clothing had not changed and Legolas almost burst into laughter thinking about how far his ex-wife's jaw would have dropped if she had seen their out of style robes. There was nothing amusing about the situation though and Legolas quickly sat down on the chair Elrohir offered him.

"You know already why you are here Legolas, and there is no use not getting to the point at once." Elrond said, his expression worried. "Your father is dying. Lord Celeborn went to see him, as he does regularly, and he says that the end is near now. Legolas, I know that you are not on talking terms and have not been so for a very long time, but still you might want to know how things are."

  
All this came as no surprise to Legolas, but yet he did not know what to say. An awkward silence took over the room before Legolas finally managed to say:

  
"But how? Are we not supposed to be immune to fading here?"

  
"Apparently not. It is a myth, it seems, and your father is also a special case." Erestor said. It was the first words the advisor had uttered since he had showed up.

  
"You see Legolas, in the case of your father, I sometimes think it would have been better if he had stayed behind in Middle Earth. He belonged to the Greenwood and I think he left a piece of his soul there. We have all had our share of losses in our life, but your father has seen way more than most and survived it. He only held on to life because of his kingdom and because of you. Now he has nothing."

  
Elrond looked straight into Legolas' eyes. Legolas could not maintain eye contact for long. He could not help feeling angry. Did Elrond try to blame him and lecture him on how he treated his father? It was not his business and there was clearly a valid reason if a son turned his back on his father. At the same time he felt panic rise in his chest. When he had read about his fathers fading in the letter it had felt only like words, but now it suddenly felt real and brutal like a knife stabbing him in the gut.

  
"But what if he would have stayed? They say our people do not belong in the age of men and that those left behind in Middle Earth will slowly fade away and become spirits, one with nature. Would that be a better faith for my father?"

  
"Perhaps it would have. No one can tell what another person's faith is, Legolas." Elrond sighed."The Valar didn't create us, but they brought us here to Valinor. Perhaps our original purpose was indeed to stay as spirits until the end of Arda. No one knows for sure, and maybe that would have been the right thing for your father. There are plenty of elves who stayed behind, and from what Celeborn told me your father was very unsure of his decision to sail. I think his main motive for coming here was you, Legolas. He wanted to be with you. "

  
Legolas had pondered the situation for too long already. Part of him wanted not to care about his father and leave him to his faith, but another part of him desperately wanted to go to Tol Eressea and make peace with Thranduil. Maybe he could save his father if he truly meant as much to him as Elrond said? Too bad his father had never shown him that. Could anyone really blame him for having doubts?

  
His thought had made him stop packing, again. He was so easily distracted and it frustrated him to no end. He had never been the one to lose focus, he had spent thousands of years disciplining his mind, but the last six weeks had worn him down. Gone was the perfect elf he had tried to be all his life. The perfect elf that was still never good enough.

  
"Thank you father" He told himself bitterly.

  
When Legolas was born his mother died. Maybe that was why his father had always kept his distance? Or maybe there were other reasons for it? His father had in any case only felt like a shadow looming over Legolas and most of the actual parenting had been done by his nanny and Galion who had been more of a father than Thranduil ever had.

  
As a little elfling pleasing Thranduil had been more important than anything. His tall, strong and perfect ada, who everyone seemed to love and respect so much. Legolas wanted to be just like him. He studied, he practiced and he tried to please his father in every thinkable way, but never got much response.

  
As he grew a bit older he started seeing sides of his father that slowly made him despise Thranduil. First it was his hot temper, then his greed. They were not noble traits for an elf, but yet Thranduil was loved by his people. Why? Legolas wanted to do better. He wanted to show that he wasn't ruled by his emotions the way his father was.

  
As an adult he saw even more traits that he could have nothing but a profound disgust for; Thranduil's constant drunkenness, and his whoring around with the women in court. He never wanted to be like that. Legolas was more like the perfect elf than his father could ever dream to be. Calm, collected and above the desires of both mind and flesh, but also very lonely and very much still in need of his father's approval. A fact, he had realized much later on.

  
He sighed and shoved one of Fëanáro's stuffed animals into the saddlebag. He was so anxious to get away from this house and start a new life for him and his son. Something better than this. But what should he do with Thranduil? Maybe it was already too late?

  
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Legolas reluctantly went to the door since he had no servants left in the house to do it for him. He expected it to be some of his former wife's servants wanting to remove things from the house. He was wrong.


	7. Missing Elves

Legolas stared at his father like he had seen a dead person or like if Thranduil wasn't really there. Maybe both. Even if there was absolutely nothing comical about the situation Thranduil couldn't help but to crack up in a smile at the sight of Legolas' face.

  
"Father..." Legolas whispered in disbelief.

  
"Yes, son. I am really here. Rumors of my fading have been greatly exaggerated, I'm afraid." Thranduil laughed dryly.

  
The expression in Legolas face rapidly changed from surprise to a mixture of shock and anger.

  
"That's not something to joke about, father. We have all been worried about you."

  
"I see my tastelessness still bother you son. That is a good thing, I guess. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. May I come in?" Thranduil looked over Legolas' shoulder into a suspiciously empty house.

  
"There is not much to see here.." Legolas said.

  
"Maybe we could go and have something to eat and perhaps a glass of wine instead? I have much to tell you. I am really, really happy to see you." For a moment Thranduil felt the urge to catch his son in a hug, but then he resisted.

  
Legolas hesitated for a second, unsure what to say then he swallowed.

  
"Father, I am not sure about this.. Here you show up wanting to drink and have dinner like nothing ever happened. A few minutes ago I thought you were dead."

  
Legolas had gone from surprised to angry and it made Thranduil nervous. He and Legolas had always seen the world from a very different perspective, but one thing was sure, they both had a temper even if Legolas was the one who usually managed to control it much better. Now he had gone too far and in a way he could understand why Legolas was upset.

  
"I'm sorry Legolas. All I wanted was just to talk to you. Please." Thranduil was not the one to beg, but this was different. He had gone too long, perhaps all his son's life, without saying how he really felt and recent events had changed him. Perhaps made him more determined than ever to make things right.

  
Legolas raised an eyebrow at his father. The suspicious expression was back, but Legolas nodded slowly.

  
"Very well. I know a decent place not far from here where we could get a good meal."

  
The place was indeed decent. Homely and very clean. Not may other dinner guests. The elf serving the stew they ordered seemed to know Legolas rather well since he automatically brought what seemed to be Legolas preferred wine to the table. They ate in silence. The stew tasted remarkably good and so did the wine. If the situation had been another he would have asked the waiter where it was from and what vintage, now he just watched his son eat. He had never really seen Legolas the same way before it dawned to him. It was an adult marked by a long and eventful life sitting in front of him, not an elfling. Perhaps he had been blinded by his own smug ignorance before? Legolas deserved his respect.

  
"You come here often?"

  
Legolas looked up from his stew.

  
"Lately, yes." He answered and took a sip of his wine.

  
"I couldn't help but notice that your house looked empty. Are you and your lovely wife moving to something bigger?"

  
"I don't have a wife anymore. I am moving to New Imladris with my son, if you must know. " Legolas said and shifted nervously in his chair like he was waiting for Thranduil to start his "I hate to say I told you so " rant.

  
Thranduil could not help but to feel a bit smug. Indeed, he had a lot to say about his son's choice of woman, but this was not the time.

  
"I'm sorry. Why New Imladris? "

  
Legolas looked surprised at Thranduil's lack of comments about the divorce.

  
"Really?"

  
Thranduil nodded.

  
"You already know my opinions of that woman, so there is no use repeating them. You are an adult Legolas it is not my place to judge you or lecture you on your decisions in life. The Valar know I have done much wrong in my long life myself."

  
"Father? Is that really you?" Legolas stared at his father, like as if something was really wrong with Thranduil.

  
"I'm afraid so. I hate to disappoint you, but time changes people. Even the most stubborn of us. You might not understand it yet, but I came here to see you and try to make things right between us. Everything that's happened lately has made me realize how much of a bad father Iv'e been to you. There are countless things I need to ask your forgiveness for Legolas. I don't know what else to say or where to start. "

  
Legolas dropped his spoon and simply stared at his father for a moment, then shook his head slowly.

  
" You know, this is really a lot to take in. I'm not sure what to make of it. Maybe you can understand that? Just let me have some time to think."

  
With those words Legolas left the table and Thranduil without looking back.

  
"Legolas, wait!" Thranduil said desperately, but Legolas had already left the room.

  
He sighed. Things could have been worse, perhaps. What exactly, had he expected from this? That his son would suddenly just forgive him because he asked for it? Too much water had flown under this bridge to make things happen in an instant. He had done all he could do at the moment.

  
Thranduil finished his plate slowly. He didn't really have much of an appetite anymore, but he knew his body needed the energy. He emptied three more goblets of wine before paying for both him and Legolas. He could feel the first tingling sensation of intoxication when he got up from the chair. A dull sweet numbness. It suited his mood well.

  
The effect of the wine disappeared quickly when Thranduil walked the streets of Valmar. It was both the blessing and the curse of being an elf, he thought to himself. As he passed by two pretty ellith on the street, both of them looked at him and giggled, then whispered something. He raised an eyebrow and wondered what that was all about. Perhaps they misstook him for someone else? At the moment he wished the intoxication would have lasted slightly longer.  Instead, he tried to push the meeting with Legolas out of his mind and concentrate on the task at hand; visiting the archives in Valmar.

  
The feeling of utter disappointment was still nagging at him though, as his mind continued replaying the meeting with his son over and over again. Perhaps Legolas hadn't even taken him seriously? There were so many things he probably should have said differently. Maybe the ironic attitude he had displayed in the beginning was too much? Legolas had never been the one to find that part of his personality amusing. But on the other hand, there was probably not much about him at all that his son found even mildly tolerable, and it was completely his own fault. That had been made clear numerous times. Constantly he had to remind himself that things could not be undone and it was in Legolas hands now. He was the one who had to make the next move.

  
Thranduil was almost relieved when he finally reached the large building that was the archive and the main library in Valmar. It was indeed an impressive building, but when he entered it was empty and silent like a tomb. The contrast to the crowded streets and the hot summer sun was striking, the light was dim and it smelled of old parchment and slowly decomposing paper.

  
Thranduil had to search a good while among the countless high shelves before he found a skinny, timid elf reading by a desk. The elf looked almost like a part of the interior and Thranduil could not help thinking about how many millennia this person had possibly spent in the library. His blond hair had almost taken a grayish color like it was in need of dusting like the books and scrolls on the shelves. The elf didn't react at all to Thranduil, he was so concentrated on his reading.

  
"Excuse me. Are you a librarian?" Thranduil asked and made the reading elf jump in his seat.

  
"I am terribly sorry I didn't hear you coming. Yes, I am. How can I be of service?"

  
"A colleague of yours in the archive in Avallonne sent me here. I am looking for information regarding missing persons in Valinor during the last two hundred years or so."

  
"You are King Thranduil!" The librarian looked ecstatic. "Yes, I go the message that you were coming from my colleague. I have collected all the information for you. I can not believe it is really you! I have read everything about you. Everything there is to read here at least. You know, second and third age Middle Earth history is a hobby of mine, or actually I am a bit of an expert on the subject here in Valmar. At least as much of an expert as one who has never lived or seen Middle Earth can be."

  
Thranduil felt both irritated and flattered at the same time. He certainly hadn't been called king in a very long time, but on the other hand he hardly felt like a king anymore and the librarians childish enthusiasm was slightly annoying. He hoped that the conversation wouldn't continue into becoming an interview of some kind. He wanted to get what he came for and return home.

  
"You know, my king" the librarian continued, " I have always admired you greatly. No ring of power and still managed to keep your kingdom safe in a time of great evil. To be honest the only other person I'd rather meet would be Ereinion Gil-Galad, but since that is not possible, for obvious reasons..."

  
"You settled for second best.." Thranduil smiled evilly. "May I see the information I requested now. I hate to disappoint you, but I sadly don't have much time for chatting. Perhaps another time."

  
"Perhaps another time. Yes, follow me." The librarian blushed and hurried away with Thranduil following his footsteps.

  
The whole folder with actual unsolved missing person cases in Valinor the last two hundred years was very thin and consisted of a total of ten cases. What Thranduil found peculiar was that there were two very familiar names on the list; Elrond's son Elladan, last seen in New Imladris five years ago and Lord Glorfindel, last seen on Tol Eressea thirty years ago. Glorfindel was also the only possible case that matched the time frame when the platform on the Island could possibly have been built. Was Glorfindel really the elf on the Island? And was it really possible that it was a pure coincidence that two of the people closest to Elrond was gone without a trace?  
The trip to the archive gave some possible answers, but raised a lot more questions.


	8. Green Eyes and Blue Water

It had taken Cara nearly two days to do all the laundry, clean her apartment and pack her bags, but finally she was going to the Island for the first time in many years. This time things were different though. The Island was hers and hers alone. She had an own Island!

  
The car was packed, and she was ready for the two hour drive to the little coastal town where the boat was waiting to take her out to The Island. However, there was one thing she had to do first. Something she had avoided doing for far too long. She had to visit her mother in the hospital.

In a way her sister was right, she did not visit her mother often enough, but it wasn't for lack of caring as Evelyn thought. She simply could not stand seeing her mother in the shape she was. It broke her heart and she could almost feel the pain, the madness, in her own body. Perhaps Evelyn was the strongest one in a way, like she pointed out time and time again, or maybe she just didn't feel pain as much as Cara did?

  
Cara's mother was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. She got the diagnosis almost twenty years ago when Cara was ten and Evelyn thirteen. She had been institutionalized most of the time and Cara had a feeling that her mother would perhaps not even want or have the courage to leave the hospital anymore even if she would get better. In the beginning she was violent and suffered from wild delusions, but after a while when the medication had taken effect she had calmed down and was mostly quietly staring into nothingness. Most of the time Cara wasn't even sure her mother knew who she was.

  
This morning Cara did her make up carefully, taking time with each step. Foundation, concealer, mascara, powder, lipstick and blush. Lately she had hardly worn any make up but this day was different. The make up was her masque. A layer of chemicals that covered up her pain and made her feel less like herself, more powerful. It was her game face and she needed it now. She sighed.

  
The hospital corridors were a white wasteland of empty walls and doors with black numbers; 4, 5, 6.. Number 7 was her mother's room. It smelled of chemical cleanser and newly dried paint. Cara took a deep breath and pushed the door open. This day the room was at least sunny and the window was open, letting in the scent of early summer and the sound of singing birds.

  
Her mother was sitting in the same chair as she always did and seemed to be staring into the wall, her hands gripping the chair. Cara put down the potted plant she had bought on the table next to the bed and sat down next to her mother.

  
"Hi Mom. How are you?" She asked with a smile, but she got no reaction from the pale fragile woman in the chair.

  
They were quiet for quite some time. Cara compared this thin, almost skeletal gray haired woman in the chair to the beautiful young woman she was before she fell ill. Her mother had indeed been a real beauty. A taller, more refined and elegant version of Evelyn. With long, straight light brown hair and big brown eyes. Cara had always envied that hair. It so different from her own blond curls. At the hospital, they had cut hair short many years ago, for practical reasons. Her mother's hair was also much thinner now. Gray and thin, just like her body.

  
"Do you like the flowers I bought you? Blue is your favorite color, isn't it?"

  
Cara knew very well that blue was indeed her mothers favorite color, but she made it a question rather than a statement because she didn't really know what else to ask. She didn't get an answer either. Her mother was totally unresponsive as usual, staring into the wall.

  
Cara sighed and got up. She went to the bathroom to get some water for the new plant, made her mother's bed and opened the window a bit further. She wondered if this illness would be her faith too. Schizophrenia was genetic, Evelyn had reminded her time and time again. When there was nothing left to do she sat down next to her mother again.

  
"You know I'm going out to The Island today. In fact, I have my car outside and it is packed with all my stuff. I'll stay all summer, almost. I have to go into town now and then to get some things now and then, of course, but still. Almost all summer on The Island, just like when Evelyn and I were little. I'll have some friends over from time to time and..."

  
Suddenly Cara felt her mother grip her arm, not at all gently, and stared straight into her eyes. The older woman suddenly looked very focused.

  
"You have his eyes. The most beautiful green eyes. And hair, like gold..." She whispered.

  
"Mother what are you talking about?!" Cara tried to pull away, and felt the panic rise in her chest.

  
"Your father.."

  
Was this another of her mother's delusions? She tried to pull away again. The doctors had told her and Evelyn that she hadn't had any episodes for a very long time due to a new medicine they had started treating her with.  
Her Mothers hand held her wrist in such a tight grip that it hurt and suddenly the older woman started shaking violently. She lost her grip and Cara rushed out into the corridor.

  
"Nurse, Nurse! Please help! My mother is having some kind of seizure!"

  
This had not gone well. Shit. It had turned into a fucking disaster. Cara's hands were shaking so much that she couldn't get the car key into the lock. What she needed was a drink, a big and strong one. She hated that a drink was always her method of coping with strong feelings, but at the moment that was what she needed. Sadly, she had a long drive ahead of her so she had to settle for a large latte from a nearby coffee shop instead. She just wanted to forget all of this, but it was not at all easy, she kept repeating her mother's words in her head time and time again. Her father had brown eyes and brown hair, everybody knew this. What was she talking about. But then again, she looked nothing like him, and he had never treated her like he loved her. It was not impossible that her mother had an affair long ago and she was the result of it, but then again, there was no way to prove it, other than perhaps a DNA test, so why bother. Things were the way they were, and she was on her own now.  Or maybe it was just one more of her mother's delusions? Who knew. Still, the fact remained that her father had always treated Evelyn so much better. Like Evelyn was more of a daughter than Cara was.

  
Cara shook her head in disbelief and concluded that her hands were steady enough to start the car. She wanted to get away from here as soon as possible, escape to her island and think about other things.

  
The drive was uneventful and Cara left the car at the marina and loaded her things onto the boat. She was utterly happy that she had learned how to handle a boat at an early age, and when she finally was out at sea all her troubles seemed to fly away with the sea breeze. The wind in her hair soothed her worried mind. The Island was not far from the coast, but she took a small detour around the Island, HER ISLAND, just to spend a bit more time out at sea. She felt proud when she watched the waves kissing the white beaches of her new home. Finally, she would be free and careless, at least for a couple of months.

  
The house had been empty for a long time and all the furniture was covered with white sheets. It was quite late, and she would leave the cleaning for tomorrow. She just opened up the windows in her favorite bedroom, the one she would make her own, to let in some fresh air and made the bed with clean sheets. After that she went to the kitchen and delighted in finally opening a bottle of champagne and connecting her computer to the internet.

  
"Back on The Island." She updated her Facebook status.

  
She poured a large glass of champagne for herself and checked the status of the event "Cara's Summer Party" that she had created a few days ago. It would be a fancy dress party on The Island and it already had 20 people attending. Among them, she noticed Steve. She smiled. She had met him at a club not long ago. He was extremely handsome, and also filthy rich and a bit of an asshole, like most men. They had been on a date last week. Even if he wasn't really her type and she hadn't fallen for him, it was quite clear that he was more than interested in her. She would play along for a while. After all, he was rich and he had promised her to bring "a boat (technically meaning a yacht) and booze for everybody to the party. He was clearly an asset for her and the party. She was already a screw up, so why not screw herself up a bit more? She pressed the "like" button on all his comments.

  
When the sun started setting Cara was already slightly drunk, and all the troubles of the day had faded away to some distant corner of her mind. The only thing she saw was the beauty of the The Island and the only thing she felt was the warm evening sun on her skin and the alcohol flowing through her veins. She had changed her jeans and tank top for a long white kaftan and carried her bottle, portable speakers and iPhone to the beach. She let the soft electronic music catch her and slowly she started dancing barefoot, on her own in the sand.

  
"If all evenings could be like this." she thought to herself, when she suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching her.


	9. The Black Key

Thranduil felt lighter and more relaxed than he had in a long time when he left Valmar and returned to his house on Tol Eressea. He had done what he came to do, and even if things with Legolas weren't exactly what he had hoped, he had at least talked to his son. That alone made him feel much calmer and more focused on things ahead.

While he was gone the workers he had hired to work on his house had started and the place was slowly starting to look somewhat decent again. New furniture, new paint on the walls. He stayed in the house for almost three weeks overseeing the renovation and during that time he also hired a couple of servants to take care of his estate. He needed someone to work in the garden, cook for him and keep the house neat and clean. He wanted to make this a home again, and it was going in the right direction. Thranduil was even hopeful enough to redecorate a room just for Legolas. He chose soft shades of blue and green just as he knew Legolas liked it. He had hopes that one day, in the future, his son would want to stay with him for a while now and then.

When he felt he had done everything he could at his house he felt the urge to continue where he had left at The Island, searching for Glorfindel whom he was almost certain was the one elf that had built the platform in the tree.  
There was one thing that he hadn't researched yet, and not for lack of motivation; the mysterious book his neighbor Elaron had given him. The blue book that belonged in the world of The Island. Clearly there was a purpose with it being here, on this side, and finding its way to him. He really needed to know what was written on the pages, but in order to know that he had to find someone that could read the alphabet of the other world and perhaps also speak their language. How he would do that was a mystery. He sighed.

This time Thranduil packed carefully before making the crossing to The Island. He was planning on staying for quite some time and he suspected that if the owners of the yellow house would show up at all it would probably be this time of the year. He chose discrete green clothing that would blend in with the forest and make him even harder to detect.

Arriving at The Island he immediately felt that something was different. The trees seemed almost cheerful as if something really good had happened. The Big Oak told him what he had suspected was true. The owner of The Island had arrived. He could not help feeling suspicious, but at least it was a good thing that the trees seemed to like the person that had arrived. Now he just needed to be a bit more careful. Even if elves could remain unseen most of the time ,and humans were not the most observant creatures, Thranduil still wanted to remain undetected.

Thranduil delighted in the fact that it was summer, real summer, and not the static, never changing summer of Valinor. He made his way around The Island carefully, looking for the human. Still no sign of him or her, but there was a boat by the pier now and he could see the door to the yellow house wide open. The owner was inside, he guessed and took some time to eat some fresh wild strawberries growing next to his feet. He had always liked wild strawberries, just like his son Legolas. But the small berries didn't grow in Valinor. That meant he hadn't tasted them for thousands of years. He closed his eyes and imagined being back in Greenwood on a sunny midsummer afternoon. The taste of the berries almost made it seem real.

Thranduil's sensitive elf ears picked up the sound of strange music from the house. He didn't like it at first, but after a while it grew on him. Still no sign of the human. The music sounded synthetic, but instead of telling a story as all songs at home did, this was more like a stream of feelings modeled into rhythm and sound. He soon became quite captivated by it. In a way it suited his personality better than the endless tales of long lost battles and forgotten bravery of his own people.

The afternoon had turned into evening when the human suddenly stepped out the door. He was a tiny bit surprised to see it was a woman. A tall woman with unruly golden blond curls, dressed in a long white dress of some kind. She was carrying a bottle in one of her hands and some kind of device from where the music originated in the other.

To Thranduil mortals had never been something that he had gotten close to on a personal level. They could be his enemies, his trading partners or his allies, but never anything other than that. Never his friends, family or lovers. They were like never ending waves upon the shores of his eternal life, a sea of ever changing faces. There one day, gone the next. He never understood the way Legolas had closely befriended hobbits, men and even dwarfs. The only thing that kind of friendship brought in the end was grief.

The woman was young. Probably around twenty five years old. Young even by human standards.Perhaps abit too thin for his taste, but still he hated to admit that some part of him found her intriguing and quite lovely. Her Eyes were big and green as the summer sea, her lips full and her skin clear and beautiful. Much more like an elleth than a human woman. She started to dance slowly to the music and the way she moved was uncharacteristically graceful for a human. Her feet seemed to flow over the white sand.

He shook his head as he watched her. He had gone far too long without the touch of a willing elleth. That was the only possible explanation. She might have a flawless face and moves like an elleth, but she was still human, he knew there was nothing but humans in this world.. He shook his head and pushed the thoughts of the girls superficial qualities aside when she suddenly turned her head and looked in his direction, like she knew she was being watched.

He stopped breathing for a moment. There was no way she could see him where he was hidden, and he hadn't made a sound, at least not a sound that her weak human ears could have picked up. She stared in his direction for a while, then shook her head, turned around and resumed her dancing while Thranduil slowly moved away and headed back in the direction of the platform.

He felt confused when he ate his evening meal. To clear his mind, he opened a bottle of his favorite wine and took a few sips. This night was very warm and the thick smell of salty water mixed with fresh grass and roses filled his nose. He did not dare to light the lantern he had brought to his platform, afraid that the woman would somehow see it. Her senses seemed incredibly sharp for a human and that meant he had to be careful, unless he wanted to be found? The woman had stirred something inside him, there was no denying that..

He ran his fingers over the strange little book. Meeting the human had presented him with a whole new possibility. He needed someone to teach him how to read the book, and maybe, just maybe she was the one. He was not sure about how he should act, he simply settled for observing her for a while to see if revealing himself to her was a good idea.

Early the next morning he got up and went fishing. He hurried with lighting a fire on the beach and cooked the two fish he had caught before putting out the fire and covering the fireplace with a thick layer of sand. After that, he circled the yellow house a few times. All the doors were shut, but a window on the second floor was open. The house was silent. She slept until late, he assumed.

Almost at noon the woman finally emerged from the house with a cup in her hand and dressed in something that could only be described as small patches of fabric covering up her breasts and private parts. The idea of the garments seemed rather pointless to him, she might just as well be naked. He cursed himself when his imagination started playing tricks on him. She was human after all. Maybe an uncharacteristically attractive human, but still, Thranduil Oropherion would never touch a human woman.

She drank the content of her cup, and after that she walked down to the beach and out in the water. She swam for quite a while, and suddenly Thranduil felt the urge to do the same. After her swim, she went back to the terrace and picked up a small gadget that she touched and suddenly started speaking into. It was then he realized that she actually spoke westron. She had a very strange way of pronouncing the words, but he could still understand everything she said.

The whole thing made him more determined. He had to contact her in some way. If the blue book was written in westron but simply in another alphabet, she would be the key to finding out what the text meant. He just had to find out how to approach her. Most likely he would scare her to death if he suddenly showed up out of the blue, but maybe that was a chance he had to take?

The rest of the day he kept to himself on the platform trying to figure out what to do. He walked quite a few laps around the tree trunk and after that he climbed higher up in the tree above the platform. He had a spectacular view of the sea and the island from here, but it still didn't make it easier for him to focus. He climbed a bit further up, until he could feel the branches crumbling under his weight. It would be impossible to go higher up. He found a birds nest filled with blue eggs, but also something else.

Carefully bound to the tree trunk and attached with additional nails was a small box made from some kind of a strange red material. It looked old and fragile and it didn't take much of an effort for him to remove it. He slowly opened it and inside he found one thing; Something that looked like a key made of black stone. It had strange inscriptions on it and it looked absolutely ancient. Not only did it look old and strange, it also made his skin crawl in a way he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.


	10. Pointed Ears and Kitchen Knives

Cara was sure she had seen something again. A flash of white blond hair moving in the tree line behind the house. She had a kitchen knife under her pillow, and a few more in other strategic places around the house. If the freaky trespasser wanted to do her any harm she would be up to the challenge. She would not give up without a fight.

  
It all started the first night on The Island with a nagging feeling that someone was watching her. At that time it was just a feeling, but the next morning on the terrace, she could feel it again, and this time she got a glimpse of blond hair and could hear the sound of breathing. Too bad for that asshole, he had picked the wrong girl to stalk.

  
Cara had always been slightly different in the way that most of her senses were very sharp tuned. She to admit that her heightened senses sometimes could make her nearly mad, especially her sharp hearing, but in cases like this it was only an advantage. She had to admit the guy was good at sneaking around thought. He moved extremely fast and quietly, more like a hunting animal than a human and until last night she had not seen him fully.

  
She had turned off the lights and hid behind the curtains in her bedroom. She waited for quite a long time, careful not to make a sound or even breath on the curtain to make it move. She had a feeling that this guy was not someone to be easily fooled and that he was exactly as sharp tuned as she was. But maybe not as smart? She smiled maliciously.

  
The moon was out and suddenly, there he was. He was huge, probably around two meters tall with broad shoulders and long, straight white blond hair. He was dressed very strangely. His clothes looked like some kind of costume from a historical movie. He also looked a lot more intimidating than she had imagined, even if she couldn't quite make out his facial features, and it made her heart beat faster.

  
She looked down for a second at the phone in her hand, and when she looked up again he was gone without a trace. She considered calling the police, but something held her back. Instead, she slowly moved back from the window and crawled into bed hugging her pillow. She was sure she had locked all doors and closed all the windows but still she didn't get any sleep that night.

  
In the morning she didn't have her coffee on the terrace, and she most certainly didn't go out in her bikini. Who knew if this guy was some kind of pervert jerking off in the bushes at the sight of her?! She certainly didn't want to provide more food for his imagination if that was the case.

  
Once again she thought of calling the police. But again, something held her back, and suddenly she realized why. Maybe none this was real? Maybe she was starting to get delusional too, just like her mother? Evelyn had explained to her a million times that the illness was genetic. Perhaps she wasn't seeing strangely dressed blond men running around her house at night spying on her, maybe it was just something her paranoid mind made up?

  
She was tired from the lack of sleep last night and made another cup of coffee and a sandwich. It was a cloudy day today, and that meant she could spens her time inside, cleaning or writing on her book and she wouldn't have to face the psycho out in the open. Still, she kept her phone and a knife close to her in case he would decide to break in and attack her.

  
The morning slowly turned into day and Cara found a lot to do inside. The house had been empty for a few years and because of the coming party all the rooms had to be neat and clean. While she cleaned she also made notes about what she needed to buy for each room. In a few new curtains would look good and in others new rugs and pillows were necessary. It was a large house and cleaning it was the best excuse not to go out. 

  
At four she made herself a salad and ate it slowly. She followed up with a large latte. She even dared to open the door to let some fresh air in and carried out some of the rugs on the terrace. Then suddenly, he was there standing like a solid wall in front of the door cutting off her escape route and casting a dark shadow the reached all the way to the table. Worst of all was that she hadn't even heard him coming. Cara had been concentrating on her latte and he had been so very quiet. Cara could do nothing else than to scream on top of her lungs and grab the kitchen knife she had next to her on the table.

  
"Don't come near me, or I swear I will kill you!" Cara backed a few steps while the psycho in front of her held his hands up like he was showing her that he was unarmed.

  
"I do not mean you any harm. I just want to talk to you." He had a strong accent and his voice was deep and melodic and he didn't at all sound the way she pictured that a psychotic murderer would. Still, she was not the one to be fooled easily.

  
"About what? I know you have been sneaking around the house spying on me for days now. Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?"

  
Cara was still waving the kitchen knife, but the man in front of her didn't seem to be very intimidated. Instead, something that seemed like irritation crossed his features and his blue eyes stared straight into hers.

  
"Believe me My Lady, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done so already. I am not here to harm you, simply to ask for your help."

  
Without a word he simply pulled out a chair and sat down right in front of Cara.

  
"If you still want to stab me with that knife, I suggest you do so. I would have little chance to defend myself."

  
Something about him told Cara that it was probably not true. Somehow he didn't strike her as the type that was ever completely defenseless. On the other hand, there was also a sincerity in his eyes that she simply could not dismiss. Perhaps he really needed her help for some reason. She slowly sighed and lowered the knife. He would get his chance explaining himself, and she would listen.

  
"Ok, but remember that if you start misbehaving in any way I will call the police. And drop that whole "My Lady" thing. I am most certainly not your lady!"

  
The man raised a thick, dark eyebrow and smirked slightly, but nodded in agreement.

  
"I did not mean to offend you..."

  
"Cara, my name is Cara. What is yours?"

  
"Thranduil" He simply answered.

  
She felt her heart rate slow down. He had a very odd name, she thought. She dropped the knife on the table and shook her head when she noticed that she had spilled her latte over the table in the general confusion after Thranduil had showed up.

  
"Damn it!" She said. A situation like this called for something to drink.

  
"Would you like something to drink? A latte perhaps?" She asked Thranduil.

  
Cara wasn't really sure what the hell she was doing, asking if a guy she nearly stabbed with a kitchen knife wanted a latte, but she figured he had a lot of explaining to do. Why not do it over a drink? Besides, she wanted one herself, and felt relieved that he was actually real and not a delusion. The more she looked at Thranduil, the less scared she was. There was something about him that was just, well not evil, perhaps. Perhaps he really only wanted her help with something, just as he said?

  
"Latte? I'm not familiar with that beverage." He looked slightly confused.

  
"Really? Wine then?" She could use a glass herself instead of coffee. Something that relaxed her instead of winding her up even more.

  
He nodded. She also couldn't help noticing that he was very handsome, or perhaps beautiful, would be a more correct term. She would rate him a nine out of ten, most probably. Not many guys would get such a high score.. She cursed herself for even thinking about something like that.

  
"Yes, please. Some wine would be nice."

  
She poured two glasses of white wine and gave one of them to Thranduil. From the way he handled the glass and tasted the drink it was quite evident that this guy was a wine enthusiast. Who could have guessed that the strangely dressed weirdo sneaking around on her private property shared an interest with her?

  
"It is a very good wine." He said and smiled.

  
"One of my favorites." She said. "Not to ruin the mood, but could you please tell me the reason why you are sneaking around on my property, and why you want my help?"

  
He sighed and seemed to be thinking carefully about what to say next.

  
"I am here looking for a person that went missing from the place I come from. I have my reasons to believe that he came here, to this island, but then the track ends. Or, it will end unless I can read a document that I believe may contain some answers about what happened to him. I need your help to teach me how to read your alphabet."

  
Thranduil pushed a strand of his long blond hair behind his ear, and it was then that Cara noticed that it wasn't a regular ear. He had pointed ears!


	11. The Second Key

Legolas first weeks in New Imladris were rather uneventful, but pleasant. Elrond was very generous and had given Legolas not only a job as an archery instructor, but also a small apartment for him and his son.  
They each had a small bedroom and a livingroomroom and a bathroom. It was nothing compared to the luxury of the house in Valmar, but Legolas didn't miss any of it. He was just happy he had some place to live and something meaningful to do. Fëanáro also seemed to be adjusting very well. The little boy was over the moon because of all the new friends he had made. There were quite a few elflings in New Imladris and Fëanáro and Elrohir's son Elros had very fast become the best of friends. Elros and Fëanáro were only born two years apart and shared the same enthusiasm for both swordplay and mischief.

  
This very morning Legolas slowly woke up from a night of pleasant dreams when his son tried to pull off his blanket.  
"Ada, ada, are you hurt? You were making strange noises!" The little elfling shouted.

  
"No, no. Ada just had a bad dream." Legolas said groggily. The truth was that his dream was not a bad one at all. It just happened to involve a naked elleth doing very, very naughty things to him, but he could not tell that to his son.

  
"May I go out and play with Elros?" Fëanáro looked at him with his big innocent blue eyes and Legolas nodded. He'd better nod, because if he didn't, Fëanáro would surely have one of his famous temper tantrums. He would scream loud enough to wake up all of New Imladris, something Elrond and Erestor joked about to no end.

  
"It's almost like having old King Thranduil in the building..." Erestor laughed when Fëanáro screamed in anger and pulled Legolas hair a few days ago.

Legolas had to admit that Fëanáro had very much in common with his grandfather, not only the temper, but the looks as well. Nevertheless Legolas loved his son very much. He was most of the time a very happy, intelligent and kind elfling. Obeying his father on the other hand, was something that didn't come easy to him.

  
Today was Legolas' day off and he was almost happy when his son disappeared to find his friend. Now he would have time to relax before getting out of bed. No eager archery students to occupy his time and obviously no son to entertain. That left him with one thing to do, think about his father. It was something he'd rather not do, but every time he had nothing to do his mind started to wander and ended up with analyzing his meeting with Thranduil.

  
His father had seemed so different that it almost made him suspicious. Did Thranduil have some hidden agenda or had he really changed for the better? He highly doubted he'd changed, but still... Why would Thranduil suddenly felt the urge to apologize? They had lived thousands of years side by side without him ever showing a single sign of having any sympathy or compassion for Legolas. Maybe Erestor had a point? Perhaps Legolas had something to learn from Fëanáro? The fact that his son was a lot like his father made him think. The fact was that, before everything bad in his life happened, Thranduil also probably had a soft side that he'd simply lost touch with. Perhaps his father had reclaimed that part of himself lately, and was indeed sorry? Perhaps hw should give Thranduil another chance?

  
Legolas sighed and got himself ready for breakfast. Outside the weather was as sunny as usual in Valinor and in the gardens, some elves were quietly reading or walking around. A few elflings were also running around playing and they all greeted him cheerfully when he passed them. In New Imladris everyone was familiar with the legends of his deeds during the war of the ring and getting the famous Legolas as their archery instructor had been something very special for many an elfling. He was glad he could inspire his students, and deep down he was a bit flattered that people idolized him. That had never happened in Valmar. There he had been close to nothing, just a husband of a wealthy elleth. A  barbaric specimen from some back water realm in Middle Earth that no one really cared about.

  
Many times he'd wondered if it was all for nothing. The elves had helped defending Middle Earth from evil at great coast, just to disappear to Valinor a few hundred years later. Here most people didn't care about any of the struggles they had endured back in their homeland. Middle Earth was indeed his homeland, and the longer he spent in Valinor, the more he realized that fact.

  
The dining hall in New Imladris was a mirror image of the dining hall in Middle Earth. This time in the morning only a hand full of elves were still having breakfast and Legolas served himself some newly baked bread, butter, fruit and a big cup of tea. He spotted Elrohir eating bread and cheese and decided to join his friend. Since their sons had found each other they had also spent a lot of time together.

  
The mellowness that Legolas had detected in Elrohir was still there, but his company had brightened up the other elf a lot. Still, the loss of his brother weighed heavy on Elrohir, and today Legolas could see he was more distant than usual. Elrohir still managed a smile when Legolas sat down beside him with his breakfast.

  
"Good morning my friend."

  
"Good morning to you too, Legolas."

  
The two elves ate in silence for a moment. Legolas was starving and this particular morning the bread seemed to taste better than usual. Maybe it was the pleasant dream he had about the elleth that had made him so hungry? He had not even dared to look at a female since the divorce, so maybe this was a good sign?

  
"My father and I would like to speak to you later, when you have finished your breakfast. I heard you were going to Valmar later this week to sort some things out with your former wife, and if it's not too much trouble for you there is a small favor we would like to ask of you."

  
Legolas nodded, his mouth still filled with bread.

  
" No problem. I assure you. Whatever I can do to help, I will." He finally said when he had swallowed the last of the bread along with some tea.

  
"Good." Elrohir smiled.

  
After breakfast Elrohir walked with Legolas to Elrond's study where the elf lord was working together with Erestor as usual. The room was not exactly tidy and filled with dusty, old books, but it had a familiar feel to it that Legolas liked. Elrohir closed the door behind them, and Elrond looked up from the scroll he was currently reading.

  
"Legolas, how delightful! How are you finding your stay in New Imladris so far?"

  
"I feel very much at home My Lord, and so does my son. We like it very much here."

  
"Good. That is very good. I have a small favor to ask you, as Elrohir might have told you already."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
"Erestor, show Legolas the key."

  
Erestor moved across the room to a shelf and returned with a wooden box that he reluctantly opened. Inside, on a cushion of red velvet rested something that looked like a black stone key. A very weird black stone key that looked ancient and was covered with some kind of symbols. For some reason Legolas felt no desire to touch the key, he just looked at it for a long time.

  
"You feel it too, don't you?" Elrond lifted an eyebrow and looked Legolas.

  
"I don't like that thing. What is it?"

  
"We don't know. But I don't like it either. It is evil. That is what my instincts tell me. This key, or whatever it might be, was left behind by my son Elladan. He'd hidden it before he disappeared, and Elrohir found it a few days ago when he went to pick up some books from Elladan's old room. I have studied it ever since, but the symbols on the key are like nothing I've ever seen before. I cannot even tell what it is made from, but I do know that I need the answers . This is where you come in Legolas."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
"Since you are going to Valmar, you will take the key with you. As far as I know there is only one person in Valinor that might have an answer to my questions, and you will speak to her."


	12. The Lesson

This was the second night in a row that Cara was tossing and turning in her bed because of him. The man, or elf, called Thranduil. Cara was sweating and the pillow she hugged felt sticky against her body. It was hot outside, and even hotter inside the house. Thranduil did have a point when he said he preferred sleeping outside this time of the year. She wondered where he slept on The Island.

  
It was not that she was afraid of him anymore, he had nothing but treated her with respect, and deep down she knew that he was right. If he had wanted to hurt her he'd done so already. She sighed. That was the good thing, she supposed. On the other hand, the rest he had told her, and the possibilities it presented were more than a little scary for more than one reason.

  
Cara checked her phone. 05.34. She might as well get up. There was no use trying to sleep anymore. She got out of bed and watched her reflection in the mirror. She had always been the one that could go on with just a little sleep, but after two nights up she didn't feel very fresh at all. The T-shirt she'd slept in was sticking to her body in places and her hair was a mess. Her muscles also felt tense and her lower back was aching. She mentally noted that the bed in this room needed to be changed to something better.

  
Looking at herself made her feel slightly metaphysical. What was really going on in her life? Was this even real? Was Thranduil real? It dawned on her that she hadn't even touched him to find out, and that meant that in theory she had no real evidence that he existed. When he first came into the house she had been almost relieved, because that was proof she hadn't been making the "whole weirdo running around her property" thing. But then, then he had started telling her that he was from another world, and that he was an elf. He had told it to her like it was just as natural as the sun rising each morning.

  
An elf from another world that wanted to learn how to read. For all she knew his ears could be fake. Weren't some people really good with latex and make up? Like all the special effects in movies. They had looked like real skin, though. The only way to find out would really be to touch them, but one did not just jump up and touch a stranger's ears, especially not on their first meeting. It was all so odd. She shook her head. 

She had been born with slightly deformed ears, or at least what they had called deformed ears. They had been pointed and very, very sensitive to the touch. She remembered the boys in school teasing her by pinching her ears to make her moan. She had hated it and when she was eleven her grandmother had finally taken her to a doctor. When she woke up after the surgery her ears were round, and completely numb. They were still numb today. Did this mean…? 

  
Cara didn't finish her thought, it was way too confusing. She sighed and walked to the bathroom, pulled off her T-shirt and stepped into the shower. She let the warm water relax her muscles and used several scented body scrubs and shower gels before she finally realized that the warm water was used up almost completely. Weren't elves supposed to be small, green, somewhat ugly creatures by the way? Not, well, good looking guys with ridiculously long hair who didn't seem to have missed a single workout in their lives?

  
Cara sighed and started working her legs with body lotion. Thranduil hadn't seemed to find her attractive at all though. Why she even cared or thought about that made her slightly angry. She was used to men taking every opportunity to flirt with her, and even if she usually knew that most guys just wanted to fuck her because she had a pretty face and a nice body, and she hated them for that, she was a bit disappointed this time. Perhaps her tits were too small for him? Why the hell did she even think about this at all? She made a face at herself in the mirror and got dressed.

  
In the kitchen everything was as usual and Cara opened the door to the terrace to let in some fresh air while the coffeemaker worked on her morning espresso. It was too early to eat, at least according to Cara, but she checked the fridge anyway and came to the conclusion that she needed to go into town to buy more food. Especially now that she had invited Thranduil over at noon to start his reading lessons. Why the hell had she even agreed to that? But, on the other hand she had felt that he really needed help, and she was not exactly known to be the one making the most rational decisions.

  
A few hours later, when the shops had opened in Cara took the boat over to town. She went crazy in the local supermarket and bought food and booze to last for at least two weeks, even if she would probably return to town in a few days time. When she returned to the Island she mentally cursed herself for not buying slightly less. Carrying the shopping bags from the boat was a pain in the ass.

  
At 11.30 Cara was finally done with unpacking the groceries and making food for her and Thranduil. If elves even ate normal food? But he had liked the wine yesterday, so probably he ate some kind of food as. She had made a fruit salad and baked a couple of baguettes in the oven. She also had a selection of cheeses she had bought in the supermarket. If the elf wouldn't eat this she would eat alone and he would be missing out on something good.

  
She came to think about something that she had forgotten a long time ago. The fact that her mother's doctors had said that she had delusions about elves. Cara had always assumed that it had meant those green small elves, but now she was not sure anymore. Perhaps her mother had indeed met an elf just like Thranduil here on the Island? The possibility made Cara shiver. Thranduil looked for another elf that he claimed had disappeared from this very island, didn't he?  
Cara took a sip of her mineral water and nearly dropped the glass when she heard Thranduil's voice behind her. Again he had been sneaking up behind her and scared her half to death.

  
"Good day Cara." He said.

  
"Good day to you too. Could you please stop sneaking up on me like that. It is really scary."

  
"Very well. I will do as you wish." This time Thranduil gave Cara a big smile and she noticed that his teeth were wickedly white and perfect. She couldn't help liking that.

  
"I've made some food for us, and I was thinking we could eat and start the reading lesson out on the terrace. I mean the weather is good and all."

  
"Fine by me." Thranduil answered.

  
"Could you please help me carry the food out before we start? Take this." Cara handed over the bowl with fruit salad to a confused Thranduil that frankly looked more than a little annoyed with Cara ordering him around. But at least he said nothing, just carried the bowl out on the terrace.

  
So, this one was spoiled. Cara smiled evilly. It seemed like Thranduil was not used to doing this kind of stuff himself,or at least not being ordered around. Perhaps he came from a rich family that had servants taking care of practical things at home? Or maybe he was a bit of a chauvinist and thought that it was women who should do the serving? One thing was clear, though. In this house things didn't quite work that way, and if he wanted to hang out here he had a few things to learn.

  
When they ate Thranduil seemed a lot happier. It was clear from the start that elves seemed to have about the same eating habits as humans, and Thranduil complimented on everything from the cheeses to the bread. He seemed curious about the fruits in the salad and Cara tried her best to teach him the names and origins of the once that were new to him. Both banana and pineapple he had never heard of before, but the strawberries he claimed to be favorites from his homeland.  
They finished lunch with a cup of tea before starting their lesson and Cara concluded that they had spent nearly two hours just eating and talking. Thranduil was very easy going and she caught herself thinking that she liked his company. He might be a bit old fashioned at times when he spoke, but frankly she kind of like it. He was very polite and refined, and that was something she missed in guys over here.

  
Still, he had rarely said a word about himself. She did not know if he perhaps had a family back home, a girlfriend, a wife, what he did for a living or how old he was. But, on the other hand she hadn't told him much about herself either, so she decided to take a step back and see if the subject was something that would come up naturally later.

  
She started by teaching him the alphabet. Thranduil seemed to pick up things quickly, but writing with the ballpoint pen seemed to be a bit of a challenge for him. He held it awkwardly in the beginning and did not seem to push it hard enough against the paper to make any lines. Cara found it slightly comical, and that seemed to irritate Thranduil. Clearly he wasn't the kind of person that people dared to laugh at where he was from, Cara concluded. The amusement didn't last for long though,pretty soon Thranduil had got the hang of using the pen and was neatly writing letters and simple words on the paper.

  
"I am used to writing with ink and a quill." He said.

  
"I figured that much." Cara said. "You are not used to people laughing at you. Am I correct about that too."

  
"Yes you are. I was a king once, and anyone who dared laugh at me would end up in my dungeon." He said it with a smile, but Cara knew that behind it all, he was dead serious.

  
"Are you not a king now?"

  
"No. Not anymore." Thranduil stared into the nothingness.

  
At that very moment Cara thought he looked like a very old, and sad man, despite his beautiful and youthful appearance. She didn't want to ask anything more, because she knew that somehow talking about his past had upset him. Cara could understand and relate to that, she was the same when someone mentioned certain things from her past.

  
A thick silence ruled the terrace for a few minutes before Cara picked up a children s book that she thought would be easy to read. It was an illustrated version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

  
"I was thinking I could read this to you, and you would follow the text on the pages as best as you can. I myself find that to be a quite useful way of learning. Then tomorrow, perhaps you can read it to me if we have come that far."  
Thranduil nodded. And Cara started reading. Thranduil seemed rather fascinated by the dwarfs in particular and at the end he asked Cara:

  
"Is this a true story? If so dwarfs in your world behave and look quite differently than they do in Middle Earth."

  
"No" Cara said. "This is just a fairytale. A made up story for children. There are no dwarfs, at least not as in small bearded men living under the mountains. I take it things are different where you come from."

  
Thranduil nodded and Cara was not really that surprised at all. If Thranduil was an elf, then why would dwarfs not exist as well where he came from.

  
"My people have had a very strained relationship with the dwarfs for ages. Sometimes even war. Still now I have learned to accept and respect them, maybe not befriend them, but my son did that instead of me. Became best friends with a dwarf."

  
"You have a son?" Somehow Cara felt a bit disappointed. If Thranduil had a son, then perhaps he had a wife too, and even if she hated to admit it to herself that would suck.

  
"Yes, I have a son. His name is Legolas."

  
"Nice. How old is he. Do you have any other family?" Cara tested the water, and surprisingly enough Thranduil answered.

  
"No, it is just me and my son. He is a grown up now and has two children of his own, but I've never met the younger one. We, how should I put it, had a fallout Legolas and I. We don't speak very often."  
At that moment Cara could truly see that Thranduil was a very lonely elf, and had perhaps been so for a long time. For some reason it made her see him as even more beautiful than before. Maybe because she was lonely too? Stil,l she didn't like the heavy atmosphere and wanted to cheer things up a bit.

  
" Tell me about it. I have a sister, and we always argue. Right now we are not really on talking terms either. Family can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Why don't we have a glass of wine. I think we earned it."

  
"Wine is never wrong." Thranduil smiled and Cara disappeared into the kitchen to return moments later with a bottle and two glasses. It was already past four and soon it would be time for dinner. She pondered if she should invite Thranduil to stay for pasta carbonara.


	13. Night Terrors

Thranduil walked back towards his tree after the dinner that Cara had served him. Her peculiar "pasta carbonara" was delicious. He had never been a lover of human dishes, but clearly things were different in this realm, or perhaps Cara was a very skilled cook? He smiled. There was one other thing he had to admit to as well. He liked Cara, and even if it was slightly distasteful admitting that he liked a human, it was true. She was very different from most females he had met in his lifetime. She could be quite blunt at times and she sometimes spoke before thinking, but he found it quite refreshing. She seemed very real, and as a king to he appreciated someone who wasn't concerned with pleasing him all the time.. And he enjoyed looking at her, she was beautiful. He laughed to himself, clearly he was not fading anymore. But then he became serious once again. After spending more time with Cara he was not sure she was completely human, even if she seemed to think so herself.

  
Thranduil picked up the sound of something moving in the bushes not far from him. He stopped dead with all his senses alert and his hand on his knife. He had not yet told her where he slept on the island, and neither had she asked. She simply nodded when he told her he slept outside, seemingly accepting his answer. Or maybe she wasn't? Maybe she was following him? Thranduil admitted that he liked her, but he still didn't trust her.

  
A deer jumped in front of him. He sighed and relaxed. It was not her. Was it a sting of disappointment he felt? He could not deny he had thought about how it would feel to touch her skin or how sweet her hair smelled when she leaned in close to him as she helped him writing down the odd letters of her world. It was both thrilling and a bit worrying.

  
Thranduil climbed up to his platform and stretched out on the blanket. He held the blue book in his hands for a while, he opened it, and turned the pages. Page, after page with text written in a not very neat handwriting. Thranduil was quite sure he was not ready for this yet. After all, he had trouble following the text in the book for children, the one about the princess and the dwarves. He sighed and came to the conclusion: The only thing he could make out about the book so far was that it most probably was a diary of some kind. Maybe Cara could help him, but for some reason the thought of showing her the book did not feel right. He didn't know her well enough, yet.

  
He smiled. Now she was probably on the beach catching the last rays of sunlight dressed in that peculiar garment she called a bikini. He really could not understand her apparent fixation with "catching a tan". He liked lounging in the sun himself occasionally, but frying his skin for hours just to get darker was something Thranduil found rather ridiculous. The beauty standards in this realm were very odd to him, but so were many other things as well.

  
Maybe it was the food, or maybe something else, but after a while he felt his head getting heavier. Thranduil was not the person to take naps, but at the moment there were no urgent matters to attend to and he surrendered himself to sleep. His last thought before he entered the dream state was of Cara. How graceful she was, for a human. How elf like her movements were and how perfect her skin looked. Oh, the things he'd like to do to her.. He became unconscious with a slight smile on his face. His blue eyes became clouded, staring up into the green roof of leaves over his head.

  
Elven dreams were different from human dreams. They were more vivid and real, almost like walking along and really living the situations. None of the confusion of what was reality and what was totally absurd existed in elven dreams, they were in a sense more like re-living actual or alternative versions of things that had passed. In that way dreams for an elf could be a way to relive the most comforting memories, but also a way to experience the worst moments over and over again, being caught in the loop of a never ending nightmare.

  
For Thranduil the latter had been the case for so many years that he was used to sleeping as little as possible. He had been like a ghost haunting through his halls and the forests night after night. A flicker of blonde hair, a soft ruffle of silk, a spilled tear in the darkness. The lonely, scarred creature that only came out in the pale moonlight was resurrected each morning as the strong, cold and mighty elven king.

  
During his time in Valinor the nightmares had almost stopped, but paradoxally it hadn't made Thranduil feel better. Well, in a way it had, but on the other hand he had felt miserable in so many other ways. He had always seen it as a sign that true peace and happiness was not something meant for him. So far, on The Island he had visited only the good places and moments of his existence at night, but this time it was different. This time he found himself on the fields of Mount Doom as soon as he entered the dream realm.

  
They had all shared the tent, the royal family. It had been quite a modest one, not like Gil-Galads hall of golden brocade. Oropher had his own room, Thranduil shared with his two oldest sons. None of them really ready, too young to be there. His oldest, Lenwë, had just passed one hundred fifty, and was brave and strong as a young tree. He was also the only one that had inherited his mother's brown eyes. Amras was the younger one, at eighty nine he was only a child, skinny and quiet, but a skilled archer. He played the harp as well. He played it in a way that could make even the coldest of hearts melt.

  
In his dream he could feel the cold wind on his skin, taste the dust in the air and smell the stench of burning and decaying corpses. Every time the enemy retreated back into the shadows for a short while they buried the dead, or tried to. It was always the same. Faces of friends, mutilated beyond recognition, body parts scattered all over. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, a burning red eye always watching. The only thing that lightened up the darkness was the fact that they all tried to fight another day for their freedom.

  
The day that was being replayed by his mind was the last day they would ever sit together having a meal. None of them knew that Thranduil was the only one who would return to the tent alive. In his sleep,Thranduil was violently tossing and turning. Part of his mind urged him to wake up, deep down somewhere he knew it was just a dream, but his body didn't respond.

  
He could feel sweat pouring down his body, black blood and dust covering his face and his hair. The never ending desperate slaughter that went on even if he was beyond tired. Steel against steel, his sword cutting armor, flesh and bone. Something had gone terribly wrong, the Greenwood army was surrounded by enemy forces on all sides, fighting for their lives. The first one to fall was Oropher.

  
When Thranduil saw his father taking a blow to the head with a giant troll axe his concentration broke and he roared like an animal. A knife cut his cheek and a sword pierced his armor before he regained his momentum. This was a fight for life and death, he swallowed his tears and kept on killing orcs back to back with his two sons.

  
Just when he could see their allies breaking through the enemy lines coming to their rescue a spray of hot red blood washed over his face. The last thing he remembered seeing was Lenwë's lifeless body laying at his feet with a black spear piercing his neck after that some something hit him in the head and everything went black.

  
Thranduil woke up screaming. He felt nauseous, disoriented and his body ached. The daylight was still bright and hurt his eyes and his heart as racing so fast he thought he was dying. He looked down at his body, and for the second time he screamed. He was bleeding, like all of his battle scars had been cut open again. His tunic was soaked and blood flowed from his nose. He began to panic. In the state he was in he could not understand if he was really injured, but one thing he was certain of. On his neck, he had a big spot of burnt skin. When he looked down at the spot where his neck had been on the blanket he saw it. The black key. He had no idea how it had gotten under his blanket but it had burned a hole in the fabric and then burned his neck. What was this thing? He did not dare to touch it.

  
Thranduil shook his head in disbelief and started feeling dizzy again. Just like as if he was falling asleep again. That was not an option! Instead Thranduil half slid, half climbed down the ladder from the platform and headed towards Cara's house. He moved clumsily, like he was drunk, and the blood kept running down from his nose into his mouth, the bitter iron taste nearly choking him. One thing was sure though, he could not really be badly injured. If that would have been the case there was no chance that he could move, let alone run.

  
Cara was sitting wrapped in a blanket reading a magazine, enjoying the early evening sun when Thranduil stumbled onto her terrace. He could barely stand up straight and even if the pain in his neck seemed to have lessened a great deal the further away from the key he moved he still had to throw himself down in one of the lounge chairs not to faint. When he started running he had just felt pure panic , now he just felt ashamed for being such a pathetic coward. What kind of elven warrior would look for shelter in an ordinary human woman? Why did he feel the need to share this humiliation? His time in Valinor surely had made him soft. Thranduil, king of Mirkwood would never have done such a thing, to him appearances was everything. As long as you didn't show weakness you were strong.

  
"What the hell! What happened to you? Did someone attack you?" Cara stared at him in disbelief, but she did not scream and she stood her ground and somehow it made Thranduil feel a little better. But, would she believe his story, though, and how much could he tell her?

  
"I cannot explain, because I am not sure myself" he said.

  
Cara shook her head. She looked pale when she eyed his bloody tunic. She sighed, shook her head and gave him a tissue for the nosebleed. She simply said:

  
"You can hardly blame me if I say I do not believe you. I am starting to get a really bad feeling about this. But for now, let's just get inside and see if you need a doctor. Let's hope you don't because I sure don't know how to explain your ears to the hospital staff."

  
Cara took Thranduil to the kitchen and told him to sit down on a chair and wait. She was back shortly with a small bag, a towel and a bowl of water. She put everything on the table and then hurried over to one of the kitchen cabinets. She took out a bottle with an amber liquid and a glass. She filled glass and placed it in Thranduil's hand.

  
"Drink it" she said. "It might dull the pain a little."

  
Thranduil drank the liquid and it tasted very, very bad, but it was strong and he guessed that was the point. He made a face of disgust when he swallowed the last drop and put the glass down on the table.

  
"I take it you are not a whisky lover." Cara picked up the towel and dipped in the water bowl. "Now take off your shirt."

  
Slowly Thranduil unbuttoned his tunic and he could see that Cara tried a bit too hard not to stare at his body. If it would have been any other situation he would have been amused and made a bit of a show of it, he knew very well what effect he had on women. But now was not the time for such things. When he was topless Cara hesitantly touched his chest with the damp towel. She frowned.

  
"There is no wound here. Just blood and scars. I do not understand. Scars can't bleed can they?"

  
"No" Thranduil answered. Scars could not bleed, but during his dream they had.


	14. Sleeping With Eyes Wide Open

Cara watched the bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask on the table for a while before she grabbed a clean tumbler glass and poured herself a large drink. She drank the whiskey a bit too fast and with each sip, she thought her hands shook a bit less. Maybe.

  
She listened to the sound of water running in the bathroom. She had showed Thranduil how the shower worked. To be honest, what just happened was a bit too much to handle at the moment and being away from him for a short while made it easier for her to focus. He'd explained about the key, the dreams and everything else, but it all sounded too unlikely to be true. Yes, it was really crazy, but on the other hand she had seen the blood and the key shaped burn mark on his neck. Hell, even him being here in the first place was absurd enough, so who was she to doubt his story.

  
She had found Thranduil a pair of old jeans and a white t-shirt in one of the guest rooms. She had a sneaking suspicion the garments belonged to Evelyn's husband Michael but she did not care. The house was hers now and everything in it. Luckily for Cara, Michael was also very tall, but perhaps a bit skinnier than Thranduil. Hopefully the clothes would fit. She eyed the pile on the kitchen counter and filled the glass again. The water had stopped running in the bathroom. She just wished she'd found the clothes before he hit the shower, but no of course not. She could hear the bathroom door opening and his steps closing in on her. She downed the whiskey.

  
"Do not fuckin' stare at him." She reminded herself when Thranduil entered the kitchen. She did not want to give him that satisfaction. He was definitely the kind of guy who probably was more or less used to women throwing them self at him, it was quite obvious. "You might have played a bunch of elf chicks at home, but this girl will not be so easily fooled." Cara thought to herself.

  
She could keep that promise for about two seconds. The elf had a bath towel wrapped around his hips and water droplets from his wet hair found their way down his scarred chest and further down his perfectly sculpted abs. She had probably never seen a more perfect body, and Cara had seen her fair share of beautiful male bodies during her life. The scars made him even hotter she figured. They probably took the edge of his perfection and made him ever more desirable.  
He smiled at her. Did she detect a bit of smugness in that smile? Yes, probably. He was not as much of a beaten man, or elf, as he had appeared to be when he came stumbling onto her terrace after all. The shower had done wonders apparently. "Yes, you are sexy, and damn, don't you know it!" she just wanted to scream but instead she just said:

  
"Do you need a hair dryer?" A nanosecond afterwards she realized that Thranduil probably didn't have a clue what a hair dryer was and she wanted to slap herself. Cara could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks.

  
"A what? Pardon me,but I do not know what you are talking about." Thranduil looked confused and a bit amused at the same time.

  
"Never mind. I found you some clothes. There is a guest room on the opposite side of the corridor from the bathroom. You can change there. I'll make us some tea and something to eat in the meantime."

  
Cara practically tossed the clothes in Thranduil's face, and he nodded with a smile and walked away. This time Cara shamelessly watched how his ass moved under the towel. That part of him seemed perfect too. She hoped he didn't notice her and she was almost sure he could not hear how fast her heart was beating.

  
Cara started making tea and sandwiches while Thranduil changed his clothes. She tried to ignore the thoughts that Thranduil provoked in her, but it was hard. If she was completely honest, she would have liked to jump him there and then, and it confused her. It was not like Cara was a prude, on the contrary, she was quite open minded, but lust had never been some uncontrollable force that ruled over her rational decision making. For her, sex and men had been more of a medicine to cure her bad self esteem or a way to get something. She had never really been in love or found herself uncontrollably attracted to anyone before, and it scared her.

Truth to be told, many would probably have labeled her a heartless bitch or a ruthless gold-digger, and maybe they were right to a certain extent. But in the end she had been used and she had used men that came into her life, so maybe they were even after all? Life was not so damn easy and there had never been any princes on white horses coming to her rescue. She had no illusions. She sighed.

  
At the same time she liked Thranduil, he was different from all other men she had met, and he just made her feel so confused. Maybe this was just a crush, but the physical attraction was scary. Damn scary. She swallowed and washed the tomatoes for the tomato and brie cheese sandwiches she was making. She was just going to lay low, get him in the friend zone, hopefully. After all,what else than heartache would he give her? He was not even human, technically an alien, and who knew if he would happen to him in the end, maybe one day he would not come back at all? And by the way he hadn't seemed interested in her. Not for real anyway, like everyone else. She was not the girl a man took home to his mother or married. She was a pretty toy. She wanted to cry out of self pity, but she instead gritted her teeth and cut the cheese and filled up the baguettes with it.

  
When Thranduil emerged from the guest room he looked slightly odd in the human clothes he was wearing, but Cara liked how tight Evelyn's husbands clothes fit him. While Michael and Thranduil were basically the same height, Thranduil was a bit more muscular, and the while t-shirt hugged his body tightly. Cara tried to remain calm and handed over a cup of tea and another glass of whiskey. She needed to calm her nerves, and so did he probably, but really it was more of an excuse not to drink alone.

  
"Hope you are feeling better now?" She said and put the tray with the sandwiches on the table.

  
"I do feel better" Thranduil looked a bit unsure, like he could not really vocalize what he really wanted to say. "I...I must apologize to you, Cara. I should not have come running to you like this... It won't happen again."

  
The apology sounded so weird coming from Thranduil that Cara almost felt amused. He was apparently not the kind of person that was used to apologizing or needing other peoples help. Maybe that was the way a king lived. How would she know, she had never met one before. She simply nodded.

  
"No worries. You just scared me a bit that's all. I'm happy the clothes fit you and you are feeling better now." She took a sip of her whiskey, followed by a sip of the tea and after that she grabbed a sandwich.

  
Thranduil did the same and they ate and drank in silence to a while.

  
"This is really good." Thranduil finally said after finishing his second sandwich.

  
Cara nodded. It was already late in the evening and soon it would be dark outside. The thought of sending Thranduil back to wherever he slept, suddenly didn't feel very appealing to her. Who knew what would happen to him if he got in contact with that key again? She was also a bit tipsy, and suddenly it felt quite reasonable to ask Thranduil to stay in the house.

  
"You know, I do have a couple of empty guest rooms here. I was thinking, maybe you'd want to sleep here instead. I mean, it would probably be safer."

  
Thranduil didn't seem to know what to answer at first. He drank some whiskey and chewed on his lips.

  
"I guess that would be wise. Thank you Cara." He gave her a slight smile.

  
"No problem." she answered and wondered what she had gotten herself into.

  
The next morning Cara, who usually slept late, was up long before Thranduil. He had probably been exhausted after what happened yesterday. Cara had made a bed for him in the guest room on the first floor and when she got up at ten she had checked on him. She opened the door slowly and sneaked in. Thranduil laid on his back diagonally across the double bed with the lower part of his body wrapped in the blanket and his arms wide spread. His blond hair looked like a halo on the pillow and at first Cara's pulse increased rapidly for more than just one reason. Thranduil's eyes were completely open and strangely glazed. At first she thought he was dead or seriously ill, but then she realized he was breathing peacefully and seemed to simply be sleeping. She frowned, maybe his kind slept with their eyes open. She slowly closed the door and continued to the kitchen. She made some coffee and tried to get the image of the sleeping Thranduil out of her head. It was hard. She drank a couple of espressos and then changed into her bikini and took a swim and tanned for half an hour. Still no sign of her guest. When she went back into the house Thranduil was still asleep, but he had changed position.

  
Cara decided to go to the main land to buy some more groceries. She would not be away for long, but she made an effort to write Thranduil a message that she left on the kitchen table. She was not sure if he would understand it, but at least she had tried. As well as food and drink, she bought some new clothes for Thranduil, something that would be a bit more suitable and in fashion. Coming back, he was still asleep and she started to get a bit worried. Maybe something was wrong with Thranduil after all? Nervously she started making a Caesar Salad for lunch.

  
"Good Morning Cara" She suddenly heard Thranduil's melodic voice behind her back. He was his usual flawless self, and not a hair was in the wrong place. He was dressed in the clothes she had given him yesterday, and even if they fit him, she suspected he would like the new once she had got him in town much better.

  
"Good Morning to you too. Though it isn't exactly morning anymore. It is two in the afternoon. I take it you slept well?"

  
Thranduil nodded and smiled. "I have not slept like this for an age."

  
Thranduil's fingers brushed Cara's when she gave him a cup of tea, something he preferred over coffee. That single touch sent a shiver through her body and she needed to take a deep breath to calm down as she followed Thranduil out on the terrace. Damn, she needed to get her shit together and not act like a horny teenager. There were so many other things that were more important and she needed to discuss with Thranduil. First of all, there was much she didn't know about him, and taking him in yesterday had, without her realizing it herself, dragged her into whatever was going on with the key. There had to be a reason he was here. She needed answers.

  
Thranduil was sitting in one of the lounge chairs on the terrace drinking tea, and Cara sat down next to him. The sun had disappeared behind thick clouds and it was hot, in a sticky sort of way.

  
"Looks like thunder in the Sky." Thranduil concluded and Cara nodded in agreement.

  
"Thranduil. I know this might be a bit straight forward, but I need to know what you being here and the key is all about. Like it or not you have dragged me into whatever is going on. You showing up here and the whole incident yesterday has scared the crap out of me. Maybe I can help, maybe not, but I think I deserve to know what is going on."

  
Thranduil sighed.

  
"Very well. I suppose you are entitled to know the truth, and my story. After all you have done much more for me than I could ever ask of a stranger. When it comes to the key I sadly do not know much more than you do, I just happened to stumble upon it more or less."

  
"But let's at least start with your story." Cara tried to sound supportive, even if she could clearly see the pain in Thranduil's eyes. It was one of these moments that he looked so incredibly old and sad, while he in other situations seemed just like a young, and sometimes irritatingly self-confident young man. "If it helps I can tell you my life story as well. I promise it won't be pretty. I'll just fetch the salad first."


	15. Dark Clouds

Four days of rain. It was as unusual as a snowstorm in Valinor. The roads between New Imladris and Valmar were a muddy mess and Legolas was completely soaked from head toe. Water was pooling in his boots and his horse seemed ill at ease. New dark and sinister rain clouds kept coming in from the east and Legolas had to agree with the horse that something really didn't feel right.

  
It was his second day on the road and he had spent last night out in the woods, under a tree. This part of Valinor was not exactly densely populated and finding an inn every night was a challenge. Legolas was not exactly picky, he'd rather liked sleeping outdoors, but there was something about the air that made him weary. And, perhaps he had become a bit spoiled too?

  
Behind the heavy clouds the sun was setting but Legolas spurred his horse on.

  
"I'm sorry my friend." He whispered in the horse's ear. "Not very far to go." He knew there was an inn by the road somewhere in this area, and he did not want to spend one more night out in the cold rain. It was like the horse understood him perfectly and increased his speed. Maybe he was as desperate as Legolas to spend the night under a roof?

  
A bolt of lightning lit up the sky and was followed by a mighty rumble when Legolas finally saw the inn. The warm light in the windows made him feel just as relieved as the thunder made him feel ill at ease. Never in the years he had spent in Valinor had he ever seen or heard of thunder and lightning, nor seen rain like this. Legolas slid down from the saddle and landed in a pool of mud and water in front of the inn's main door. He knocked on the wooden door and after a few seconds he could hear a scared little voice.

  
"Who is it?"

  
"I'm just a traveller. I am looking for shelter from the weather. "

  
The door opened slowly and a petite elleth with large scared, dark blue eyes met him. Her eyes stopped uncomfortably at the fighting knives attached to his back. Silently she nodded and gestured at Legolas to get inside at the same time as a male elf reluctantly made his way out in the rain to take care of the horse.

  
"What is that horrible sound and the fire in the sky?" The elleth sounded like she was about to cry. " I have never seen anything like this."

  
"It is thunder and lightning." Legolas answered. For him it was an odd question, but then again he had never experienced this kind of weather in Valinor Before and it was probably possible that she had never seen the phenomenon. "This kind of weather was fairly common in Middle Earth."

  
The elleth nodded, but still looked scared. She was shorter than most females, but she was very pretty Legolas thought. He blamed himself for even thinking about such things in this situation. It was something Thranduil might have done, but Legolas was not his father.

  
"You have lived in Middle Earth?"

  
Legolas nodded. The elleth seemed a bit curious now, but didn't ask any further questions. She simply showed Legolas into the inn's main room. It was empty, but a fire was lit in the fireplace and there were candles on all tables to add a cozy atmosphere to the room. The elleth looked at him, up and down, and in her eyes, he could not only see fear, but something else as well. She seemed to like what she saw. Legolas was a bit uncomfortable. He had always felt a bit ill at ease when people pointed out that he was handsome, for some reason. Maybe it was another way for him to distance himself from Thranduil, who flaunted his good looks whenever he had a chance?

  
"I was born in Middle Earth and I lived half of my life there. My name is Legolas."

  
"I understand. I'm Nessa" She nodded and a slight blush crept up her cheeks when she smiled back at Legolas. "I'll show you to a room."

  
After Legolas had changed into dry clothes, or rather the driest clothes in his saddlebags, he made his way down to the main room where Nessa had a bowl of warm soup ready for him along with some bread. When Nessa was about to put down the bowl in front of Legolas another bolt of lightening lit up the sky outside the window and was swiftly followed by a loud rumble. Nessa nearly spilled the soup. The thunderstorm was close by and Legolas could not really blame her for being scared, as a matter of fact he was worried too. Something just wasn't right about all of this.

  
"Forgive me." Nessa whispered. "The weather makes me a bit nervous. Is this thunder and lightning dangerous?"

  
Legolas didn't know what to answer. In this case he was not entirely sure, but he still thought it best to try and calm the elleth down as well as he could. Being terrified certainly would not improve the situation for anyone.

  
"Not usually. Sometimes the lightning may hit a tree and cause a fire, and in that way it may be dangerous, but otherwise; no." Legolas smiled.

  
Nessa nodded, but looked far from convinced.

  
"I'll leave you with your soup now mister Legolas. I'm sorry for disturbing your meal."

  
"It is nothing. I understand the weather gives you an uneasy feeling."

  
Nessa nodded. Her beautiful smile made his heart flutter in a way he hadn't felt in a very long time. He sighed, and tried his best to push the feelings away. She was not for him. No elleth was, in fact, at lest not now. He was a miserable failure as a husband that much was clear after his first marriage. He would be stupid to even think of pursuing any female. Especially not one he just met less than an hour ago and that seemed more or less scared of him. He was a complete fool.

  
It was late and he might as well try to get as much rest as he could. Legolas was still two days from Valmar and if the rain kept falling like it had the past few days it might take him even longer. He sighed and ate his soup in silence before leaving for his room.

It was a simple and clean room. White walls and textiles and furniture made from dark wood. Simplicity always had a strangely calming effect on his mind. Legolas hung all of his wet clothes to dry wherever he could find a suitable place in the room. He then placed his knives on the table by the window. He really had no need for them on the roads in Valinor it seemed, but old habits died hard. Both Nessa and the stable boy had seemed slightly upset when he showed up armed at the inn, but for some reason Legolas didn't feel whole traveling without some kind of protection. Elves here in Valinor didn't harm each other and there were no large and dangerous predators to fear in The Undying Lands. It was safe to travel and the only people that carried bows or spears were professional hunters.

  
If was not the first time, and certainly not the last that Legolas felt very old, and very lost. He had never really felt at home in Valinor and just like most other elves that had spent most of their life in Middle Earth he was sometimes met with suspicion because of his manners and way of life. They were often labeled as somewhat brutal, barbaric and exotic. Integration had proven to be a challenge for most of the Middle Earth elves, and it was no surprise that many elves from the Middle Earth realms had settled together in places like New Imladris and Lady Galadriel's Golden Woods.

  
Legolas had tried so long to fit in. He met his wife, moved to Valmar and made an effort to make a life for himself. Ultimately, it had all failed miserably and the only one that had taken pity over him was Elrond. No one else in Valinor had any use for a warrior like him since there were no wars to fight and not even any trade caravans to guard because there simply was no threats on the roads. Being an archery instructor would be his faith till the end of this world, probably. Legolas sighed and stretched out on the bed and breathed in the scent of fresh bed linen.

  
Suddenly there was another smell than just the clean linen that reached his nose. Burnt leather. Legolas got up on his feet. He could see smoke coming from his saddlebags. Very odd. When he lifted the bags from the floor, he could hear a loud plunk when something fell to the floor. It was the black key. Elladan's black key, and it had burned a hole in the bag . It was now burning the floor and Legolas felt his heart rate rising rapidly. He grabbed a goblet of water and poured over the key as fast as he could and found that it stopped the burning.

  
Seconds later when he picked up the key it was as cold as ever, but it had left an ugly brown burn mark on the wooden floor. Legolas shook his head in disbelief. What was this thing? This could by no means be a good omen, his gut feeling told him. He would also have to apologize to Nessa for the mess in the room. The faster he got to Valmar and got some answers about this thing, the better. Legolas sighed and for safety reasons he put the key in the goblet and filled it with water, just in case the key would start heating up again.

  
He had barely even put the goblet down on the table when he heard a terrible noise from the first floor. It sounded like someone was throwing furniture around, and then he heard frightened screams and a guttural roaring that he knew all too well. Legolas grabbed his knives and rushed down the stairs. This could simply not be happening!

  
But, it was. When he came down to the main room they were standing there. Four of them. Four living, breathing orcs. He had almost forgotten their foul smell and how ugly they were. The tables were tossed aside and in front of the orcs feet the stable boy was dead, in a pool of red blood. One of the beasts held Nessa in his claws. She screamed hysterically. Legolas killed the one holding her by throwing one of his knives while he came running. The knife went through the orcs neck and sprayed Nessa with its filthy black blood.

  
"Run, hide somewhere!" Legolas shouted and the terrified elleth managed to get herself to safety behind the kitchen door.

  
The three remaining orcs came at Legolas roaring like animals and the only thing Legolas could do was to jump up on one of the tables, leap to another and then stab the largest of the orcs i the back of his neck with his remaining knife. The speed and agility of the elf had taken the orcs by surprise. Two to go. Legolas leapt over to the body of the first orc he had killed and grabbed the other knife just before the orcs came at him again.

  
The two orcs that were still alive proved to be much more of a challenge than Legolas had counted on and it worried him greatly. They seemed to be well trained and well armed.

  
"You will die pathetic elf scum!" One of the orcs roared and charged on Legolas, who managed to stay out of harms way and instead stabbed him in the side with one of his knives. The other orc went for his head, and even managed to make a small cut in Legolas left cheek when the edge of his blade touched the elf. Legolas didn't even feel the pain, but he could feel his blood running down his face. He was out of shape, he need to focus.

  
The orc he had stabbed in the side was immobilized, he was till alive, but laying on the floor with his hands desperately trying to stop the bleeding. The last remaining fighting orc offered some resistance, but Legolas was after all an elf and his fighting skills were far superior. He finished the beast with first cutting off its sword arm and then decapitating it. Legolas breathed in heavily still holding his knives scanning the room.

  
There was no one left alive besides the orc, who's side he had cut open. The creature's breathing was heavy, like a man snoring, and its yellow eyes watched Legolas every move carefully, but without fear. Legolas put the sharp tip of one of his knives to the orcs chest. He was not sure if it was reality or fantasy, but it was almost as if he could feel the heartbeats pulsing through the knife and into his own body.

  
"How did you get here? Why are you here" He broke the skin with the tip of his knife. "If you answer me I will give you a fast and painless death."

  
The orc chuckled and coughed. The sound seemed to bounce off the walls in the room.

  
"I do not fear pain, or a slow death, stupid elf."

  
Legolas ignored the insult and pressed the tip a bit further into the orc's flesh. He was terrified of how winded up he felt, like he was suddenly alive again. A killer at heart. Maybe that was what he was? Maybe it was the reason he had never felt at peace in Valinor? Because there was no place for someone like him.

  
"Who sent you? What are you looking for?"

  
"You have what I've come for Legolas, son of Thranduil. And you know it. Who my master is you will find out soon enough." The orc laughed one last time before he stopped breathing still with Legolas knife pressed to his neck.

  
Legolas got up on his feel and suddenly he felt weak and nauseous. The stench of blood was nearly suffocating him and he had to sit down on one of the tables. So, this was it? The key. They wanted the key. They had followed him here, and because of that one elf was now dead and the world had been turned upside down for many more. He sighed and looked at the stable boy who's lifeless eyes stared into nothing and the four butchered orcs around his feet.

  
"Legolas. Are you alright?" Nessa's voice was barely a whisper.

  
He nodded. "Did they hurt you?" Legolas walked towards the elleth who seemed to back off closer to the kitchen door with every step Legolas closed in on her.

  
"It is over now." he whispered. "They are dead and can't harm you anymore."

  
"They killed him. He is dead. I have never seen anyone die before. No one ever dies. He was such a gentle soul." Nessa was rambling and her hands shaking, she sounded like she was about to break and Legolas slowly closed his arms around her. She was so short that he could rest his chin on her head.

  
"Shhh.." he whispered and stroke her back. "It is over now. I'm so sorry."

  
She finally started crying and Legolas still held her even if he did not feel worthy of such a thing. He was the one who had led evil to her doorstep, even if it hadn't been on purpose.


	16. A Confused Woman

It was quiet on the pier. The calm water reflected the hot sun and Cara's nose was filled with the scent of the warm summer sea. It was past noon and Cara was tanning, her body glistening with sticky sweet tanning oil. She knew she was a fool for not using sunscreen, but on the other hand, she had always figured that since you only lived once, then why not enjoy a small amount of stupidity. She liked the tanning, both the process and the end result,for crying out loud!

  
It was rather nice to spend some time alone for a change. As much as she enjoyed Thranduil's company, being around other people was something that also made her feel stressed out, and she needed time to think. The whole ordeal with Thranduil showing up on the island had thrown her life completely out of balance, and now that things started to go back to a somewhat normal pace she felt she had more or less lost two whole week. She hadn't written a single chapter in her book, and the big summer party next weekend was just around the corner and she hadn't even started planning yet.

  
She sighed and took a sip of her diet cola. Maybe she was just a brainless bimbo? After all, she had a living, breathing alien living in her house, she knew about the existence of other worlds, and yet she insisted on focusing on such mundane things as organizing a party. Either she was incredibly stupid or it was just a way for her to keep her feet steady on the ground. She voted for the latter. She just needed to feel a sense of continuity and false security when the world around her had proven yet again to be so much bigger and more dangerous than she would ever have imagined. Cara desperately wanted a break from all the big and scary thoughts that loomed like dark clouds in the outskirts of her mind.

Next to the sun lounger on the table was a checklist with things that needed to be taken care of, and tonight she thought she would bring Thranduil over to the mainland to help her out with the shopping. She thought the elf was ready to experience a bit more of this world, and truth to be told she sometimes felt that spending time alone with him here on the Island made her go crazy.

  
It was not like Thranduil was a pain in the ass to be around, in fact, he was mostly very polite, even if he sometimes could be a bit moody and lost his temper quite fast. No, that she could easily deal with, she was a bit similar. It was the fact that she had a crush on him. Or maybe crush was the wrong word to use. She was mostly horny, putting it nicely, physically attracted to him. She had been ever since their second meeting when she had stopped being scared of him. She found him quite irresistible really. He on the other hand just seemed indifferent to that fact, or at least didn't act upon it in any way. It confused her. She was not the one that men turned down, at least not for sex.. When it came to love and relationships it was a whole other story. She sighed.

  
She had seen him looking at her several times, when he thought she would not notice and sometimes he slipped into a flirtatious way of talking to her, like it was his natural mindset around women. She had labeled him as a player from the start, but it seemed like the more aware of her growing interest in him he became, the less he showed that side. It was like he had decided not to touch her and when her desire for him grew stronger, he seemed to get further out of her reach. She could not get him, and she would most certainly not humiliate herself by throwing herself at him like a lovesick teenager.

  
Maybe it was because she was human? After their talk a few nights ago when they had shared their life stories he had mentioned his distrust in humans, or well, all other races really, besides his fellow elves. At first it had hurt her feelings a bit, but to be quite honest she could hardly blame him. If the humans from his beloved Middle Earth were anything like the people here, Thranduil sure had legitimate reasons for not liking them very much. There were quite a few idiots and scumbags out there.

On the other hand, she was not one of them, hopefully, and did him being an elf really make him so much better? From what she had seen there was not much difference after all. He could be quite grumpy, had a bad temper in the mornings and a never ending thirst for alcohol, just to name a few things. Hell, he had consumed half her wine cabinet already and he was vain too. There was white blond hair tangled in her hairbrush and she knew he had used her bath oils without asking. Surely one could ask a bit more from a nine thousand years old elf king? Or maybe not. He was just as good, or bad as any other average person really.

  
"Same shit, different name..." Cara said aloud.

  
Still, she liked him, maybe because he was the way he was. A normal, but a bit old fashioned and extremely good looking guy. There was a depth and a melancholy to him that was in such sharp contrast to his sometimes cocky and over confident manners that intrigued her. She had always found people like that to be the most interesting. She could not even begin to understand him, but she was willing to spend time finding it out.

  
"Are you talking to yourself?"

  
She could hear Thranduil's deep voice behind her and it sent a violent shiver down her spine. She turned around and found him standing there dressed in his elven clothes and large aviator sunglasses. It made him look a bit silly, but he seemed to like sunglasses in general. Where he had found this particular pair she had no idea about, but the house was big and old and full of stuff so she was not really surprised.

  
"I see you have been borrowing my stuff without asking again"

  
He smiled, pushed the sunglasses further down his nose and glared at her.

  
"I believe these are not yours Cara. I found them on the beach. A couple of young men came with a boat and made camp last night on the other side of the island. They are gone now and one of them left these behind."

  
"They were camping on my island without permission? Well, then it's only fair enough that you stole their sunglasses, I guess."

  
Cara smiled and got up from the sun lounger.

  
"Look, I think it is time for us to do something else today. We have had many lessons in writing and reading the last days, and I think you are doing well enough to take a break. I have to go over to the mainland for some shopping and I thought you might want to join me."

  
"I am not sure that would be wise. There is a lot about your world that confuses me a great deal still."

  
"Well, I'd say today is a good a time as any. You'll be fine.I'll help you cover up those ears and if you only stay close to me nothing will happen. There is a nice restaurant in the harbor as well. We can have dinner there. I think you'll love it."

  
Thranduil nodded and Cara smiled. What she didn't mentioned was that she also needed a lot of help carrying all the groceries, and that the elf king would come in handy. If she had succeeded in getting him to fill the dishwasher yesterday, this might work just as well.

  
An hour later Cara was dressed up and ready for the trip to town and Thranduil was still in the shower. He usually took his time and Cara decided to have a chat over webbcam with Steve, the guy who had promised to bring both his gigantic boat and booze for everyone to the party. While Thranduil didn't seem at all willing to give her what she wanted Steve might be a welcome distraction. Sometimes one just had to settle for second best, and at least she could understand Steve. He was just one of those hot douche bag guys she had a habit of dating. After a bit of friendly talk over webcam Steve asked the obvious:

  
"So, Sexy, how are the party plans going?" Steve was drinking beer sitting topless in front of the webcam. His hair was messed up and he looked generally gorgeous. Still, he simply did nothing for Cara. It was a bit worrying really that the only thing that came to mind was a certain blond elf.

  
"Nah, I've had a lot to do lately, but I'm going shopping today at least. It will be a great party. I promise..."

  
"Who's that?" Steve looked suspicious and Cara turned around. Thranduil came walking into the living room wearing only his jeans. Cara swallowed.

  
"It's just my friend Thrandy. He's been staying with me for a few days."

  
Thranduil didn't seem to have noticed that Cara was talking to someone over the computer, and just continued into the kitchen. Thank god his ears were covered with his hair this time.

  
"Really?" Steve looked anything but happy. But then he said with a evil grin: "That dude seriously needs a make over. Those eyebrows and that hair. Fucking clown. What kind of people do you hang out with?" He started laughing and Cara gritted her teeth. How dared he!? She didn't let it show though. She just said:

  
"Look, we are on our way to town, and I'll have to go. We'll talk later, ok?"

  
"Ok Sexy, say hello to Eyebrow Dude from me. Haha.."

  
Cara was fuming when she went over to the kitchen. Why did she even bother with an asshole like Steve? Just because he had money and she happened to be horny enough to need a substitute for what she could not have? Sometimes she didn't understand herself. Was she really this shallow or was it just an act? A way for her to try to fit into a world that would never truly see her for what she was? She shook her head and tried not to let it ruin the rest of her day. Still, she felt a sting of guilt when she walked over to Thranduil, who was sitting by the kitchen table staring out over the sea. She really hoped he hadn't heard what Steve had said, but if he had he did not mention it to her.

  
"Shall we try to hide my ears now?" Was the only thing the elf said.

  
"Yes, I was thinking we could attach the tips to your head with medical tape and then comb your hair over. You'll have to wear it up in a pony tail, but I guess that will be ok for you?

  
He nodded.

  
"Just know that the ears of an elf are very sensitive." He looked up at her and she was not exactly sure what she detected in his clear blue eyes, but it made her heart beat faster.

  
She nodded. "Yes, I'll try to be careful."

  
Cara slowly moved Thranduil's hair away from his ear. It was soft like silk, and her thoughts started wandering again to places and situations that kept her awake at night. If he only knew how fast her fantasies about him made her cum when she was all alone and frustrated in her bed. But hopefully he didn't know, and most probably he wouldn't care either. She sighed and instinctively she caressed the tip of his ear. Thranduil hissed and Cara got out of her trance.

  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

  
"No. It is all right." Thranduil assured her without meeting her eyes. "Please continue so we can get on our way."

  
Cara nodded and taped his ears as fast as she could, touching them as little as possible. Thranduil seemed to relax considerably when she was done and started to comb his hair back into a ponytail covering up his ears. She critically checked her work and nodded in approval.

  
"I think they are covered up now. If it only was winter, then you could get away just wearing a beanie"

  
Thranduil nodded and looked at his reflection in the mirror Cara gave him.

  
They didn't say anything more on their way over to the mainland. In the boat, Thranduil seemed distant staring out over the water. Cara could feel the tension between them like a wall. 

  
Cara almost felt like crying. This was just another one of those moments when she felt so lost and confused. She thought about all of the days she had felt like she did not belong anywhere, the appointments with doctors who discussed over her head why she grew so slowly, the way her father had always treated her so differently from the way he treated Evelyn. When she had met Thranduil things had suddenly started to fall into place, things that were sometimes beyond scary. Was it was true that she was not completely human? She had not told Thranduil. She was not ready for it yet. Did he suspect something? It was impossible tell at the moment, the elf king seemed lost in his own thoughts with his eyes lingering on the horizon.


	17. A Darkness Over Valinor

Legolas stayed two extra days at the inn even if he was worried that him being there would lead to another orc attack. He simply didn't have the heart to leave Nessa and the other people in the small village around the inn to clean up after the an event he knew he was the cause of.

  
The elves in the village were scared to death and just a simple task as cleaning up the blood in the inn's main room was more than most of them could stomach. Legolas helped out as much as he could and was also the one to burn the bodies of the dead orcs out on a field. When he guarded the fire his restlessness grew. He needed to get to Valmar as soon as he could, but what would these people do without him? They barely knew how to arrange a proper funeral for the stable boy and when he asked if any of them had some kind of experience with weapons in case of another attack they had all looked at him in disbelief.

  
"They won't return, will they?" Nessa said trying to cheer the villagers up, but in her voice Legolas could hear doubt.

  
"I can not know that for sure. But if they do you will have to be prepared to fight, or you will all die." He said, without sugar coating anything, because they needed to hear the truth if they were to survive.

Their innocence scared him more than anything. Until now Valinor had been a place of peace, but everything had changed in an instant, and there was no telling what could happen next. If four orcs had found the way here there was no way to know if they could be followed by an entire army. How could a few warriors protect a whole continent?

  
An elf had stepped forward and told Legolas that he was a hunter, and that he could teach some of the villagers how to use a bow and arrows. Legolas had nodded in approval, but he knew that it was not enough. But what else could he say? Maybe it would protect the villagers from another four orcs, but if war really came to Valinor they would be doomed.

  
The only good thing about the two days that passed was that the rain stopped, and the normal perfect summer weather was back. The roads dried up quickly and when Legolas finally was on his way to Valmar it was quite pleasurable to travel. Nessa served him one last breakfast of scones with whipped cream and blueberry jam and sat down with him while he ate.

  
"You don't know how thankful I am for all the help. Without you we might all have been dead."

  
Legolas nodded as a thank you with his mouth full of scones and felt guilty. Whatever he might have done to help, the whole situation might never even have occurred if he hadn't been there in the first place. The orcs were looking for the key after all, but he could not tell her that. If anyone here even knew about the key it could put them in even greater danger, and there was no way he could let that happen.

  
Before he left the inn Legolas braided his hair as a warrior, something he had not done since his time in Middle Earth. Oddly enough, it gave him a bit more of his confidence back. Before he mounted his horse Nessa placed a chaste kiss on Legolas' cheek.

  
"Will you return here on the way back from Valmar?"

  
"Maybe" Was the only answer he could give Nessa. He would very much have liked to see her again, but on the other hand, he also wanted to protect her. If he only knew more about the key he would have been able to give her a bit more than just a maybe. "I would really like to see you again" He added a bit nervously. He had never been good with flirting, and the sentence did not exactly come out sounding very elegant, but Nessa didn't seem to mind. She just smiled and said:

  
"I would very much like to see you again Legolas."

  
With those words Legolas left for Valmar. The rest of the trip was uneventful, even if he kept alert and ready for another orc attack at all times. In Valmar things were different when he entered the city. He could feel the change in the atmosphere. There were less people in the streets than usual, and those that were out seemed to be in a hurry.

  
At the inn he stayed at, the owner updated him about the situation almost as soon as he stepped inside the door. The slightly dull, black haired elf seemed very nervous and Legolas could see he was wearing a blunt kitchen knife in his belt. Legolas highly doubted that it would do much good if the poor elf was attacked by orcs, but he didn't say anything, instead he just listened to the news.

  
"There has been orc attacks on Tol Eressea! Over one hundred elves killed. And one other attack here on the mainland as well, only two days on a horseback west of here. People are terrified! How can this be happening?"

  
Legolas, who was one of the few who could have shed a light over the situation thought it best not to say anything this time as well. People were scared enough as it was, but the mention of attacks on Tol Eressea made his heart race. Over one hundred elves dead! His thoughts immediately went to Thranduil. What if something had happened to his father? What if his father was the one the orcs were after? The orc he killed called had called him "Legolas son of Thranduil." There was a chance there was a connection.

Even if Legolas and Thranduil had a strained relationship the thought of anything happening to his father was horrifying. The last few weeks he had made peace in his mind with his father. Thranduil had finally reached out to him and the thought of losing him before Legolas could tell him he had accepted the apology was scary. Legolas knew his father was very much capable of defending himself, but what if they had caught him off guard somewhere and he was unarmed? The thought made him sick, and thinking about all other elves he knew on Tol Eressea even more so.

  
"Can you tell me where on the island the orc attacks occurred?" Legolas could hear the panic in his voice, but he did not care.

  
"Somewhere on the East Coast, I do not know exactly where though. If you want to know you have to go to the archives. They have the latest news for you to read." The inn keeper answered.

  
Legolas thanked him, left his belongings in his room and hurried straight to the archives. Even if Legolas had lived in Valmar for countless years, the archives were a place he had hardly ever visited. Living with his former wife, he'd never had the need to rely on public sources of information, since his father in law was an advisor of the high king and had access to everything one could possibly need.

  
It was a pity really, since the Royal Library and Archive was a very beautiful building. It was completely empty today, though, and so was the square in front of it as well. The orc scare had the citizens of Valmar hiding inside their houses. Legolas steps echoed in the quiet building as he entered and the shelves filled with books and scrolls seemed to never end in all directions.

  
"Hello, is anybody here!" He shouted, and minutes later he could hear the sound of light footsteps and silk robes being dragged against stone floors. A skinny, blond and very pale elf showed up with a lantern in his hand.

  
"I apologize, I apologize. I did not hear you coming mister.."

  
"Legolas"

  
"Mister Legolas. I apologize once again. I was so caught up in reading a biography of Ereinion Gil-Galad. Very intriguing read. Very intriguing. Second and third age Middle Earth history is a hobby of mine, you see, and..."

  
"I wondered if you could help men find out a bit more about the orc attacks on To Eressea. My father lives there and I am a bit worried about him."

  
"Understandable. Who could imagine something so horrible happening here in Valinor. Please follow me."

  
Legolas followed the librarian whose robes seemed so brittle with age that they looked close to disintegrating. The librarian stopped in front of a wall covered with paper and pieces of parchment.

  
"The news." He said proudly."What is your father's name?"

  
"Thranduil Oropherion" Legolas Said.

  
"You are the real Legolas!" The Librarian looked like he was the happiest elf in Valinor. "No,no your father's name is not on the list. Thankfully. But you know, he came here not that long ago. It was a great honor meeting him. Very, very great honor in fact."

  
Legolas resisted the urge to sigh, but he had to know what Thranduil had been looking for. It was probably not the news Legolas concluded.

  
"What was my father looking for?"

  
"He was looking for records about elves that had gone missing over the last twenty years or so. He did not tell me why."

  
When Legolas finally had made it back to the inn he could not get any sleep. He tossed and turned in the soft bed. The librarian had insisted that Legolas had tea with him, and Legolas was too polite to say no, as usual. He had been force fed dry biscuits that tasted like they were a century old and the elf had bombarded him with questions about the war of the ring. In the end, it had been worth it since the librarian had shown him the documents his father had come to look at. Now he was more or less sure that his father was somehow involved with they key. Elladan was on the missing elves list, and Elladan was also the one who had originally found the key, presumably. It was evident that his father knew something since he had been researching the missing elves. Legolas sighed. Tomorrow was the day he would get the answers. Hopefully.

  
The next morning the sun was shining from a clear blue sky, but the streets were still far from crowded. Legolas made his way to the location Elrond had pointed out to him. The Garden Of The Oracle .He had never been here before either. It was not a place one visited without a reason. The Garden was a round area just outside Valmar and here the apple trees were always in bloom and the ground covered in the greenest grass and most beautiful flowers. Legolas walked through the garden on a spiral path of white stones that ended in the middle in front of the gates to the temple where the oracle resided. It was to this place one who wanted to seek answers or advice from the Valar came. The Valar did not interact directly with more than a few select elves, and Legolas was certainly not one of them.

  
An elleth dressed in white greeted him in front of the gate. Her face was partially covered by a hood and Legolas could only see her mouth. Without a word she gestured him to follow her into the temple. They ended up in a small room that was all white marble. The air was thick with incense and on a single large blue pillow an elleth sat with a silver bowl filled with water in front of her. Her feet were bare but her face was entirely covered by a blue veil. The woman dressed in white left the room and closed the door behind Legolas. He was not entirely sure what to do next, but then the oracle spoke:

  
"Legolas Thranduilion you bring with you a very dangerous artifact."

  
"The key?"

  
"Yes. One of the six keys of the worlds. Together they can unlock the greatest force of destruction ever created. The keys have a power that even the Valar cannot control and they must not under any circumstances get into the wrong hands. You and a select few others have been chosen to try to find the keys before the One that rules the Dark World will."

  
"The orcs. They are searching for the keys as well."

  
"They are, and they must not find them. You have one key, and your father has one. Others are searching as we speak. Go now little one."

  
"But there is so much more I need to know..."

  
The oracle did not answer him, instead she was humming a melody silently. Legolas shook his head in disbelief. The door opened and the elleth in white showed Legolas out without a word. It felt easier to breathe once he stood in the garden again. He sighed. Now he knew, or at least had an idea of what th keys were. He needed to send word to Elrond. He felt a sting of guilt when he thought about his son. He would no doubt be well taken care of, but this was not Legola's idea of being a good father. He didn't want to leave Fëanaro and head out on a quest that might just lead to his death. But then again he had seen the dangers that could tare this world apart, and what kind of elf was he if he didn't do his best to fight it. Still he cursed the Valar for choosing him.


	18. Summer Sins

The supermarket was a very confusing place for Thranduil, but in a way he enjoyed it at the same time. He could barely keep himself from touching all the strange, colorful fruits and vegetables. A few were familiar to him, but most of them were exotic and totally new. He had already filled Cara's shopping cart with enough to sustain them both for several days, and truth to be told he felt a bit embarrassed to add more. Instead, he practiced his new reading skills on the shelves.

  
"Avo-ca-do. Avocado." He whispered quietly to himself. The avocado looked slightly odd and not as appetizing as many other fruits.

  
"Yes Thranduil, you should really try the avocado. I think you'll like it." Cara smiled and placed two of the avocados in one of the transparent bags she used for packing the fruit.

  
"There is one thing I have been thinking about ever since we arrived here." Thranduil said and looked around. "Will all this food really find a buyer? I have never seen this much food in one place, and a lot of it is fresh. What happens when it goes bad?"

  
"I guess it just goes to waste. It's sad really, to think that here we throw away so much food and in other parts of the world people are starving." Cara sighed and checked the shopping list.

  
"It is indeed very sad."

  
Thranduil felt slightly upset after what Cara had told him, and it made the shopping feel less enjoyable. He focused even harder on reading the texts on the packages on the shelves. After concentrating on a bag of pasta for a while he suddenly felt like someone was watching him. He turned around and found a child, a little girl, looking up at him with a large smile on her lips. He guessed that she was probably about four in human years and she had dark curly hair and a stuffed animal in her hand.

  
"Are you an angel?" She asked.

  
"Pardon?" Thranduil raised an eyebrow. He did not understand the question. What did angel mean?

  
"I asked if you are an angel. Or are you a fairy?"

  
"No. I most certainly am not a fairy." Thranduil said slightly amused.

  
"You are glowing..." The child said.

  
"I'm so sorry Sir. She has such a vivid imagination. I hope she didn't bother you too much." A woman lifted the child from the floor. The mother's cheeks were colored bright red.

  
"No she did not bother me at all." Thranduil smiled and the woman's face seemed to turn a few shades darker.

  
"But mom, he's an angel..."

  
The mother carried away the child who was still waving at Thranduil. Cara walked up to his side with the shopping cart. She was laughing quietly and the cart was full to the extent that Thranduil had to catch a bottle of cola that was about to roll off the mountain of groceries.

  
"Thanks. That was kind of cute. An angel. I think we are done here, let's get all of this to the boat."

  
"What is an angel?"

  
"Well, it's a kind of religious figure. A heavenly creature. Some people believe they exist, but personally I really don't. But on the other hand, I didn't believe in elves until a few weeks ago. Who am I to say that angels don't exist as well. I'll show you pictures when we get home."

  
An hour later Cara and Thranduil were sitting on a terrace outside the small Italian restaurant Cara had chosen. Thranduil had no idea of what an Italian restaurant was, but Cara had explained to him that it was a kind of local cuisine from Another region of Earth. The food and wine was indeed as enjoyable as she had promised. The staff was friendly too, and he could clearly see why Cara liked the place so much. She smiled and watched people walk by with a glass of red wine in her hand. Cara seemed content, and it made Thranduil relax as well.

  
The past few days, as he had got to know her better he had often wondered why she often seemed so tense, to see her smile honestly, like she really was at ease was unusual. But then again, he had been much the same for so many years that he could not even bother to count. Maybe that was why he just felt desperate for her to be a happy? Or was he slightly guilty because he suspected that he himself was partly the cause of her mood?

  
He had noticed the past days was that Cara was obviously attracted to him. At first it had amused him and he had even enjoyed teasing her a bit, showing off his body when he knew exactly what effect it had on her. To him it had been a game that he had often played in the past, but somehow it didn't feel right this time. She seemed seriously confused and so was he. He had no idea why he hesitated like this. He never did with women before. Lately an awkward silence often descended over them.

  
He watched Cara's long, slender fingers reach for the last piece of cheese on the plate and he followed her hand to her mouth, watching how she sucked her fingertip before she started chewing. Those simple actions sent a jolt of electricity down his spine. She was no doubt beautiful to look at and he had gone far too long without touching a female. Otherwise, she was not the kind of woman he should be interested in. Barely old enough to be an adult and while she had been nice to him she also had several personality traits that were not exactly appealing. But was he perfect? No way. All this nonsense was just part of his confused inner monologue when it came to Cara.

  
As if she could sense Thranduil watching her,  Cara turned to him.

  
"I'm sorry. Did you want the last piece of cheese?"

  
"No, it is alright." He looked into her dark green eyes. She was obviously slightly affected by the wine while he was not feeling anything.

  
"There is something I wanted you to know. I have enjoyed having you around. I think you have changed the way I view the world a lot. You've showed me that there is something more out there. Quite often really, I've surrounded myself with the wrong people. You know, when you are used to always let the wrong people into your life you start turning the right once away, unless they come crashing down on you, of course. Like you did." Cara said.

  
He was a Little touched by her essentially Calling him a god person. Many would argue he wasn't.

  
"The wrong people, you say. Like the one you were talking to over that computer before we came here?"

  
Cara blushed, and Thranduil regretted what he said immediately. She had been open and honest with him and he really didn't care what a stupid mortal on a screen said about him. Or did he? No, he didn't care about that mortal,but he cared about Cara. He fisted his hands under the table. Did Cara like that man? Did he wan't her? Obviously yes. Thranduil felt like he wanted to choke someone, preferably that stupid mortal. He forced himslef to take a deep breath.

  
"I'm so sorry. You know, afterwards I hated myself for not telling Steve to fuck himself or something. He had no right to say those things and if anything he is just a mean and jealous asshole. When we were in the supermarket I texted him and told him that I did not want him to come to my party at all. No one needs people like him in their life..."

  
"I'm sorry Cara. I should not have said what I did.."

  
"No you are right. You have every reason to doubt my judgement. Hell, sometimes I don't have any clue what I am doing myself."

 

Thranduil simply nodded, but could not help feeling a bit more hopefull. Cara sighed and finished the last of the wine in her glass.

  
"I think we should head home before it gets too dark or I get too drunk to drive the boat home. We have more cheese and wine on the Island to continue there. Perhaps on the beach. What do you say about that?"

  
He nodded in agreement and she waved at the waiter passing by and asked if she could pay. Thranduil felt a sting of guilt when he could not be the one to pay for her, but he promised himself that when he came back from Valinor next time he would have a nice selection of wine from his personal collection for her. That would have to do since he did not have one of those peculiar cards that people in this world used for payment.

  
The short journey over to the island was uneventful. The sea was calm and the last rays of sunset colored the water and the sky in bright shades of red, orange and purple. The star constellations that became more and more visible in the darkening sky were foreign and mysterious to Thranduil, but nevertheless soothing. It was really a beautiful night and even Cara's mood seemed to lighten when they came back to the Island and walked together along the beach the short distance to the house.

  
"I've always liked starlight." Cara said, mostly to herself and Thranduil smiled and nodded in agreement.

Cara unlocked the door and turned the lights on in the living room and the kitchen. After unloading and organizing all the groceries she opened up a wine bottle, and poured a glass for herself. Thranduil asked for some whiskey instead and they both went out to the beach with their bottles in hand, and Cara with a thick blanket under her arm.

  
Cara spread the blanket and Thranduil tasted the bitter drink. He had indeed come to like it after the first shocking experience when Cara had forced him to drink it after the incident with the key. It was strong, rich and intoxicating even for his physiology. Very potent indeed, and the taste was very alluring to him, especially when it came to certain more smoky varieties.

  
Cara tossed herself unceremoniously on the blanket and Thranduil followed suit a bit more gracefully. They sat there quietly just listening to the other persons breaths, taking deep sips from their respective bottles, and stared up at the stars. Thranduil would have felt truly at peace if it wasn't for the attraction he could feel boiling somewhere under the surface. He could feel it in the way Cara always deliberately seemed to avoid touching him, but yet unconsciously tried to be as close to him as possible. He could not say he was totally unaffected either and he was flattered that she desired him. Being near her was extremely tempting, he could not lie about that..

  
"You know, when I was little I sometimes used to sneak out at night to watch the stars. I could sit for hours just imagining what was out there in the great black universe..Never would I have imagined it was someone like you."

  
Cara's speech was slightly slurred and her smile was bolder and more seductive than usual. Thranduil could see that she had downed almost half the bottle already. He sighed. He was well aware that Cara often drank to drown her own frustration. He wished her to stop, especially if it was because of him, but who was he to lecture her about drinking? He was exactly the same. In fact the darkest days during the war of the ring had been a blur of alcohol and adrenaline. And sex. All just because he had refused to feel the same pain he had felt during the last alliance again. He sighed and ripped away the medical tape that had held his ears back.

  
Cara pulled her cardigan around herself more tightly looking at him with her large green eyes. It was indeed slightly chilly, but it didn't affect Thranduil much he had not given it much thought before.

  
"I'm cold.." She said matter of factly, and leaned a bit closer to Thranduil who almost automatically leaned in towards her.

Her scent was alluring and her breath hot on the tip of his ear. She leaned in and kissed him. First gently, and then, when he offered no resistance, hard and with passion. She was needy, pushing her smaller body against him. The way their tongues danced perfectly together promised so much more to come. Thranduil flipped Cara over and pinned her hands over her head. She curved her back, smiled and pressed her body closer to him.

  
"Please, I want you to fuck me." She said without shame, smiling wickedly. She knew how to turn him on. False innocence and prudery had always irritated him. Yes, fuck her he would. Hard, until she could do nothing else than to scream his name into the night. He kissed her hard and demanding, his hand travelled up under her top pushing her bra aside to feel one of her hard nipples. His mouth started kissing her neck hungrily. She moaned and it was like sweet music to his ears.

  
Thranduil was impatient. Cara's clothes were a distraction. With one hand he ripped her top in half and the irritating pieces of human underwear followed swiftly. She lay there exposed under the starlight breathing heavily. He could feel her heart beating when he ran his hand over her chest. Cara stared into his eyes like she urged him to continue.

  
"By the Valar you are beautiful." He whispered and leaned down to kiss her left nipple.

  
Then he suddenly hesitated. Seeing her exposed before him like this made him feel disoriented and weak. When he looked at Cara he could not only see her, but he also saw all the other women he had ever bedded. A delirium of naked bodies, long legs, round breasts and hungry lips. They had been hundreds, or perhaps thousands, and none of them he had really deserved, or cared about. Just flesh. Beautiful flesh to satisfy his carnal desires. Cara was going to be one more in the line, and he could simply not do it this time. It was not right, not for him and not for her. This was not what he needed or wanted. Not now.

  
"Thranduil. What is wrong?" Cara's voice sounded nervous beneath him.

  
"I am sorry Cara. I can not do this." Thranduil let go of her hands and got up. Cara was staring at him in disbelief.

  
"Did I do something?" Cara tried to cover up with the pieces of her ripped top.

  
"I just need time to think..."

  
"Fine! If I'm not good enough for you, then just say it!" Cara got up unsteadily and started running towards the house.

  
"Cara, wait!" Thranduil shouted, but Cara was already inside slamming the door violently. Thranduil gritted his teeth. She might have been drunk, and maybe he could have handled the situation better, but still this was one of these moments he had hoped she would act a bit more mature. At least she could have stayed and listened to him.

  
"Have it your way then." Thranduil was furious. He turned around sharply and walked straight into the forest. He did not have the nerve or the will to go and try to talk to Cara now. He needed time to think, and he could not do it here. He climbed up to his platform and collected the things he had there. After a little hesitation he packed the black key as well. He had not found any kind of answer to what it was in this world, so maybe he would have a better chance in Valinor. The only thing left of value for him in the house was the blue diary, but he was not going back for it now. In a foul mood Thranduil crossed over to Valinor via the magical oak.


	19. Trouble in Paradise

For Legolas next morning couldn't come soon enough. He tossed and turned in his bed at the inn, thinking about his father and this new turn his life had taken. He didn't really want to admit it at first, but in a way he enjoyed the excitement. After so many years living a life of utter boredom this felt strangely fresh. He mentally slapped himself for even thinking that. After all he had a son who was only fifteen years old to take care of and protect. What kind of father was he going out to save the world instead? No better or worse than his own apparently...

  
He sighed and delighted in the fact that the sun was rising. He hadn't slept at all, but it did not matter. He had a busy day ahead of him. First of all he had to contact one of Lord Elrond's associates in Valmar to send a message about his meeting with the oracle and the fact that he was heading over to Tol Eressea before retuning to New Imladris. The trip would take over a week at least, but Legolas could not bare the thought of not knowing his father was ok. It was ironic really. Just a few month ago he thought he hated his father. Apparently he had lied to himself. He did care more about Thranduil than he ever wanted to admit before.

  
After leaving the message Legolas spent the rest of the morning looking for a bow and arrows. He had cursed himself time and time again for bringing only his knives to Valmar, but how could he have known? He sighed when he had to settle for a bow that felt somewhat ok i his hands. The amount of shops selling bows in Valmar was limited and with the current orc-scare everyone who had any kind of knowledge about how to use a weapon had bought one. Still the fact that Legolas had a bow now made him feel much more secure.

  
By midday he found himself riding for the coast as hard as he could without pushing his horse to the limit. Everything seemed normal in the countryside outside of Valmar. Elves were harvesting apples and grapes along the road and the sun shone over green fields. The panic of another orc attack did not seem as apparent here as it was in Valmar, but when Legolas stopped by an inn for a meal and a room for the night the other guests and the staff were gossiping. It seemed that when the rumors travelled everything was blown out of proportion. Suddenly it was five hundred dead on To Eressea instead of a hundred. Hardly a surprise. Legolas sighed and retired to his small room directly after finishing his meal. He had a long ride in front of him and sleep served him better than listening to mindless gossip.

  
When Legolas finally arrived at Tol Eressea by sea the first thing he could see from the ship was the remains of a burnt village by the beach. Only two houses were intact, the rest black skeletons of wood and heaps of ash. Seeing this made Legolas sick to the stomach, and angry. How many had died here? He wanted to kill all the filthy orcs that had done this. Several elves standing beside him on deck had started crying when they saw the destroyed village, but  Legolas just stared at it in blind determination. He was doing the right thing, he was sure now. Fighting this evil and saving his people was what he was meant to do.

  
In the city of Avallone he got off the ship. His horse seemed delighted to be firmly on the ground again, and so did Legolas himself. If people had been scared in Valmar it was nothing compared to what it was here. It was really sad, because Legolas had always loved the city with its characteristic white houses with blue doors, the smell of the sea and fresh oranges and lemons that were the main export. In the market square there were a few stands, but the one that seemed to be most frequented was one with an elf selling weapons. Spears, bows, swords and even something that looked suspiciously like an antique dwarven battle ax were up for sale to the customer that could manage to pay the outrageous prices. People seemed to be swarming around the salesman, but other than that the streets were almost empty, at least when it came to civilians.

  
Legolas was fairly surprised to see armed elves dressed familiar in gray cloaks patrolling the streets, and one of them particularly caught his eye. The sharp profile and the arrogant expression simply could not go unnoticed for long. The other elf had seen Legolas as well and was now walking across the square with a wide toothy smile glued on his face.

  
"Legolas! It has been ages since I've seen you."

  
"Haldir." Was the only thing Legolas managed to say.

  
He had never really cared much for the former marchwarden of Lorien. He was a bit arrogant and rude even if he certainly was a good person at heart and a very skillful warrior. Perhaps it was because both the arrogance and rudeness were traits that made him think of his own father, Thranduil. What really irritated him was also that Haldir always seemed to insist on acting like they were the best of friends, when in fact they had only shared a few battles and even fewer goblets of wine from time to time during the last two ages.

  
"So, what brings you to Tol Eressea?" Haldir seemed curious in a way that made Legolas want to shut his mouth completely and not say a word. "Looking for work perhaps? There is plenty here, I can tell you. After the orc attacks the city council came to the Golden Woods and practically begged on their bare knees for Lord Celeborn to lend them some of his warriors to protect the city. Now we are here, and the change of scenery has been quite refreshing, even though I still prefer sleeping in my own bed. And we are short handed as well. There are not many warriors on this island."

  
"Thank you, but I do have a job already."

  
"And where does an elf with your kind of expertise find work in this realm of peace?"

  
"I am an archery instructor." Legolas deliberately left out the fact that Elrond was his employer.

  
"Really?"

  
Legolas could detect a hint of a smug smirk on Haldir's lips.

  
"How about a drink? There is a nice tavern not far from here and my shift is ending in a little more than an hour."

  
"I'm afraid I have to decline." Legolas said. "My horse is growing impatient and we have a long ride ahead of us to my fathers house."

  
"Restless horses. I see. Well, perhaps another time."

  
Legolas nodded and mounted his horse. He had a long way to go to his fathers house, indeed. He had not lied about that.

  
When Legolas finally reached his fathers home at the beach onthe easternmost part of the island in the early afternoon, the place seemed just as peaceful as he remembered it. The high, slender pine trees that surrounded the white house in the hill above the beach was a breathtaking view, and the scent of salty seawater hit him like a wall. There had most definitely not been any orc attack here that was for sure. Legolas sighed with relief. What he was curious about though was the fact that there were several elves working on the house. Two were repairing the roof, and one working on the masonry. When Legolas walked closer to the house he was met by an elleth dressed in a simple gray dress and and a white apron. Legolas had never seen her before and and he immediately had his suspicions about why his father had hired her. She was curvier than the average elleth, something that his father seemed to prefer and she had long black hair and rosy cheeks with dimples that seemed to have been put there by the Valar them self just to tease.

  
"Welcome Sir. How may I be off assistance?" The elleth smiled, but something about her appearance gave away that she was not quite at ease.

  
"I am looking for Thranduil Oropherion. Is he at home?"

  
"Yes he is, but Sir, I must warn you. He is not in a very good mood at the moment."

  
"That's all right. I am his son Legolas. I think I can handle my father's mood swings."

  
She sighed, but still looked uncertain.

  
"He has been drinking all night, and most of the morning since he came home. He has not talked to anyone and I've heard him throwing around things in his bedroom. I did not have the courage to go and ask what was amiss. I am new here and the other workers say your father is known for his hot temper." The elleth flushed bright red and looked down at her shoes.

  
"Do not worry. Believe me when I say I can handle my father."

  
"I apologize for speaking so freely, but he scared me today."

  
"You have no need to worry, My Lady. Do you by any chance know where my father has been before he came back today?"

  
The elleth shook her head.

  
"No. He comes and goes, never saying where or when he will return. It is not my job to ask questions. My job is merely to take care of the kitchen, the cleaning and things of that sort. This time he was away for over two weeks and came home dressed vey strangely.."

  
Legolas sighed. His father was always the one to surprise him. There was probably nothing more the elleth could tell him, and he did not want to pressure her further either. He would find out soon enough what Thranduil had been up to. He was a bit worried though. Maybe the fact that both he and his father were involved with the black keys could put the elves working for his father in danger? He hoped not.

  
The interior of the house was different than last time he had visited. He wondered when he had been there last and he was shocked to come to the conclusion that it had probably been closed to a thousand years. He felt a sting of sadness  about the fact that he had let the relationship with his father get so infected. He wondered how lonely it might have felt for Thranduil to walk this empty house for so many years. At least now Legolas was happy that his father had apparently decided to renovate the house, and employ staff to take care of it for him again.

  
When Legolas stood outside his father's heavy wooden bedroom door he hesitated to knock, and when he finally did there was no answer. He grabbed the handle and pushed it down. The door was not locked and he stepped inside. The large bed was untouched but otherwise the room was in a state of chaos. There were books on the floor, a wine bottle was smashed against the wall. The wine had created nasty red stains on the white walls and the expensive carpet.

  
Legolas closed his eyes and swallowed. He could still feel traces of the anxiety that he had always felt when he was just an elfling he saw his father drinking and losing his temper. Thranduil had never harmed him in any way, but Legolas still remembered hiding under the bed in the room next to his father hearing things breaking against the walls and his fathers screams. He had always wondered if Thranduil had been different when Legolas mother was still alive, but he had never dared to ask. It was a mutual understanding between father and son to never talk about her.

  
The door to the terrace was open, and the light white curtains billowed in the wind. Legolas stepped out and found his father asleep in a chair dressed in the most peculiar attire he had ever seen and with seven empty wine bottles surrounding him on the floor. If Thranduil had consumed all this alcohol he had surely been intoxicated beyond belief. Legolas shook his head and suddenly anger gripped him. Apparently his father was still the same selfish bastard as he had always been. Being saved by the Valar had apparently not humbled him even a bit.

  
Thranduil stirred in his sleep and mumbled something that Legolas could not understand. The clothes he wore and the shoes on his feet were indeed something that Legolas could not get his head around. They seemed very alien, but made his father look a bit less intimidating than he usually did. Legolas didn't find the garments very appealing. Odd looking loose fitting blue trousers and a white short sleeved shirt that seemed too small for his father's muscular body.

  
"Ada" Legolas shook his fathers left shoulder but the other elf just stirred and mumbled something in westron that Legolas could not decipher. Thranduil's eyes remained glazed, he was still in dreamland and Legolas could feel the scent of a sweet feminine perfume from his fathers hair. So this was what it was all about, again. A woman. Not surprising.

  
"It is too late to teach an old dog how to sit" Legolas thought with a bit of cruel satisfaction. He grabbed his fathers shoulder again. This time he shook Thranduil hard, maybe a bit harder than strictly necessary, but at least it seemed to work this time.

  
"Ada, wake up!"

  
"Wh...Legolas.." Thranduil looked up at his son with confused eyes.

  
"What in the name of the Valar is going on here? Do you know that you have scared your staff half to death with your drunken tantrum?"

  
"So, my dear son came all the way here to lecture me. What a great way to wake up. You never change do you, Legolas?" Thranduil's voice was raspy and he sounded exhausted when he got up from the chair on unsteady legs. Legolas chose to ignore his fathers insult and Thranduil wandered off into the bedroom and grabbed a goblet standing on a the bedside table. He downed the content and Legolas sincerely hoped it was water. Thranduil then put down the goblet with a loud thud and said:

  
"Legolas. Why are you here. Do not get me wrong, it is nice to see you but it is not something I expected."

  
"It is about the keys." Legolas reached for the black key in his pocket and showed it to his father.

  
Thranduil stared at it and hesitantly reached out to touch it.

  
"You have one too? How can that be? Do you know what they are?"

  
"I know a few things, most of all that they are very dangerous. Have you heard about the orc attacks here in Valinor?"

  
Thranduil shook his head.

  
"No, but I do think we have a lot to talk about. Let's go to the kitchen and have a meal when we talk. I am starving."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
"And while we eat you can explain to me why you are wearing those strange clothes as well."

  
"It is a long story, but I'll try to explain. It has to do with the keys after all. Let's go son." Thranduil gave Legolas a gentle push towards the door.


	20. The Day After

Cara woke up with the bitter taste of hangover in her mouth. Her heart was beating like a drum in her chest and all she wanted was to disappear from the face of the earth. Still, outside the sun was shining and the birds were singing without mercy. A short time she tried to pretend that it was still night and she pulled the duvet over her head but it didn't work very well.

  
"Oh god, what have I done?" She moaned and kicked the duvet off her body.

The situation with Thranduil last night was replayed time and time again on her way down to the kitchen. She had been such a fool. A complete idiot. She had thrown herself at him. That was in it self pathetic enough, but then she had acted like a stupid immature kid and ran away when he had clearly wanted to explain something important. She had never been very good at handling rejection but maybe Thranduil had a reason? He had told her that he was a widower, but he had never told her definitely that he had no one special at home waiting for him. Or maybe he just didn't find her appealing enough? Somehow she doubted that. The way he had touched her last night told a different story.

  
Cara gulped orange juice straight from the container sitting on the kitchen counter. She could still almost feel his lips on her nipples and his tongue against the fragile skin of her neck. It made her shiver. She wanted to forget because she could not bear the thought that she had destroyed everything between them. If she could not have him as her lover she would at least want to have him as a friend, but she feared he was gone for good now.

  
There was something inside Cara, an instinct perhaps that told her that Thranduil had left the Island. Still she wanted to make sure that he was not around. She swallowed a painkiller and stepped into her ballerinas. She was wearing nothing but her panties and a long tank top, but she figured no one would be on the island to see her anyway. She walked around calling his name, until her throat was sore and her hands were shaking from exhaustion and the hangover. There was no use. If he was still here, a fact she doubted, he didn't want to answer her.

  
Cara sighed. She had ended up by the old oak tree, a place she and her sister had loved very much. The swing, or actually a blue rope with a piece of wood tied to it was still there, and Cara had even tried to swing on it a few times since she had returned to the island. Now she just sank down with her back against the giant tree and closed her eyes. The oak had always been special to her, and when she was younger she had even claimed that sometimes the tree talked to her. She was pretty sure it was just the fantasies of a little girl, just like those imaginary friends she had heard others talk about, but somehow being close to the tree always made her feel a bit more relaxed.

  
She had asked Thranduil a few times where on the island he had slept before moving into her house after the incident with the key, but she had never gotten any real answer besides the extremely vague "outside". Eventually she had stopped asking, respecting his privacy. Maybe he had a reason not to tell her. Now she regretted not taking the matter further. She had found no sign of a campsite anywhere on the island so far. She sighed.

  
"This is just great." She said to herself. She was surprised she had not cried yet, but truth to be told she was exhausted, and he mind felt more like a blank void than anything else.

  
Cara leaned her back against the warm tree trunk. A day like today she almost wished her childhood fantasy would come true and she could speak to the tree, but such things were foolish to hope for. She slowly got up on her feet and got ready to return to the house. She might as well try to get some sleep and forget all of this for a while.

  
"You know, it was not only your imagination playing tricks on you.." She suddenly heard a deep raspy voice from the tree trunk, or was it possibly inside her head?

  
Cara started sweating, panic gripping her. She was losing it! Her mother heard voices and she was in a mental institution. Was this how it all started? Cara wanted to run, but she was paralyzed.

  
"Relax child. You are not imagining anything. I am really talking to you." The voice was more soothing now, with a hint of sadness to it.

  
"This can not be happening! This is not real!" Cara shouted.

  
"Please. Relax. Hold out both your hands and I'll drop one of my acorns in each of them.

  
For some reason Cara did as the voice told her, feeling foolish stretching out her hands but not expecting anything to happen. Strangely she could hear two pops, and a rustle of leaves, and suddenly she stood there with two acorn in her hands. Both had had dropped down exactly in the middle of her palms. She just shook her head.

  
"You see. Reach inside you heart Cara. Deep inside you know that this is real. It is sad to see how this world and the way of life here has turned you so far from the magic of nature. You know, once there was a time when all living beings could communicate with each other to a certain extent. In Thrandui's world things are very much like that still.."

  
"You know Thranduil?" Cara sounded surprised.

  
"Yes I do. I quite like to talk to him even if he can be a bit arrogant sometimes." The tree chuckled.

  
Cara shook her head in disbelief, but at the same time a hint of a smile was spreading on her lips.

  
"Do you perhaps know where he has gone?" She asked. It she was indeed talking to a tree, she might as well ask. If elves existed, then why could not talking trees exist? And, if she was truly going insane, would she really be aware of it? That was what people said at least, that if you were really mentally ill you would think that there was nothing wrong with you. Cara did not know if that was fact or fiction, and she was to young to remember how mother had acted before she had been hospitalized.

  
"Thranduil left last night and crossed over to his own world. He is no longer here on this island." The tree answered.

  
Cara nodded.

  
"Would it be possible for me to cross over? I upset him, and I'd like to talk to him."

  
"No I do not think so. I am not allowed to answer this kind of questions." The tree answered.

  
"Not allowed? By whom?"

  
"The Valar. They have authority over the gateway between this world and Thranduil's"

  
"Who are the Valar really? I know they sent Thranduil here. He told me that much. Does this have something to do with that key?"

  
"As I said. I can not answer your questions, and to be honest, even if I was allowed to help you I would not know all the answers. I just know that Thranduil is well, and if you want to see him you will just have to wait until he comes back, if he comes back. In the mean time there are still answers to be found. Thranduil left something behind. Something important that once belonged to you mother.."

  
"Really?"

  
"Yes, I'm sorry. I was not really allowed to say that either. I can not talk to you anymore."

  
"Thank you Tree." Cara said, and sighed, but she did not get any answer back.

  
Cara went back to the house. She still had a bad case of a hangover and needed to sleep it off. At least she now was pretty sure that Thranduil was safe, but would he ever come back? Cara curled up in bed. Sleep, she thought. She needed some sleep, and then she would search for that thing that the tree told her Thranduil had left behind.

  
When Cara woke up again she was still not completely sure if her conversation with the tree was real or part of a dream or her imagination. Maybe deep down she had the feeling that all of this was very much real, but still that painful WHAT IF was ever present. What if she was mentally ill? Wouldn't just any person that had seen what she had seen have their doubts? Especially with her family history of mental illness. She concluded that at the moment there was not much she could do but to go through the room Thranduil had used. It was the best way to start.

  
She opened the door to the now empty guest room and started by methodically searching the drawers in the nightstands and then the small closet. This room had always been a guest room and the only thing Cara could find in the closet were some spare blankets and a pair of children's sandals. She was pretty sure they had belonged to her at some Point. The drawers contained two old paperbacks, matches and a box of tissue paper. She then searched under the bed, behind the curtains and even under the carpet. If Thranduil had hidden anything here in this room the only possibility left was the bed.

  
Cara could not resist resting on the bed for a while. She could still feel the scent of Thranduil lingering in the sheets and she breathed it in and closed her eyes. How very pathetic! She got up and ripped away the sheets instead. Why even bother tortureing herself like this? She had fucked this up royally, and he might never come back. No, she would wash the sheets and get the room ready for her friend Erica who would be the first guest to arrive for the party on thursday morning.

  
When Cara lifted the pillows she found something. A blue book. It looked like an old notebook and when she opened it she immediately recognized the handwriting. This was indeed something that belonged to her mother! It was a diary that her mother had chose to call "The Island Diary" and the notes in it started in the late seventies when Cara's mother was in her late teens.

  
Cara's heart fluttered. She quickly carried the laundry to the washing machine and then she sat down in the sofa with a cup of coffee and the diary. The first notes in the book were sporadic. It seemed that her mother had kept the book on the island and wrote short entries whenever she spent time here. It was all sun and fun with cousins and nights spent a the clubs in the harbor in town. After that there was a short break, and when Cara's mother returned, she was already married and had Evelyn. About a year before Cara was born her mother had spent much time on the island, sometimes alone, sometimes with Evelyn. According to the notes there had been severe problems in the marriage, and according to the book Cara's mother had accused her father of cheating. She had spent time here on the island to try to sort things out, and it was then that the notes of a strange blond man started.

  
Cara read for hours and strangely enough much of what she read was no large surprise to her. Deep down she had always been very different, no matter how much she had tried to hide it both from herself and from others. Although she had tried to ask questions multiple times when she was younger she had always been met with silence and closed doors. After a while she had stopped asking, and tried to accept things the way they were, until she had met Thranduil. Then things had finally started to make sense again. The diary was just plain evidence for her to see.

  
It was early evening now, and Cara felt restless. She needed some air. She put her shoes on and went for a walk along the beaches. This day had been long, and full of surprises and changes, and she felt exhausted at the same time as she was too winded up to be able to relax. She kicked some smaller stones and driftwood around as she walked and wished desperately that Thranduil would be here. He was the only one who might be able to answer the questions she had, and possibly, besides he mother the only one to believe her. Cara decided to visit her in the hospital next monday, after the party.

  
So, her mother had a short and intense romance with an elf here on the island. She was the result. He had come to the island from Thranduil's world looking for something. That something, Cara assumed was the key that Thranduil had later found. This other elf, her real father was apparently called Glorfindel. Cara wondered where he had gone or if he knew about her existence. The diary had given her no clues about that, since it ended the same day Cara's mother had found out she was pregnant. Cara sighed. Did Thranduil know her father? Perhaps he did since he had told her he was looking for a missing elf. What did it even mean to be a half-elf? Were half-elves something common and did it mean that she would live as long as Thranduil?

  
How she wished everything yesterday had never happened, then he might have been here to help her out. Or would he? What if he deliberately had kept the diary from her? Was the diary the reason he wanted to learn how to read their aplhabet in the first Place, thinking it might contain information about the key? Damn it. She just hated her life at the moment! She prepared to kick a rather large chunk of driftwood when she suddenly stopped dead in the movement. She could hear someone talking.

  
"No, nothing, yet."

  
Cara rounded the small cape that prevented her from seeing the one who was talking. Now she could see a small motor boat in the shallow water at the beach and a man talking on the phone. He looked perfectly ordinary, dressed in white shorts and a navy blue sweater. He was rather thin and around fifty Cara estimated. She was slightly annoyed that there were people trespassing on her private property again, but it was understandable because even if there were signs here and there along the beach they were quite easy to miss. The man had not noticed her though and kept talking on the phone.

  
"I'll rendezvous with Nazg on friday anyway. Tell him to have the money..."

  
Suddenly the man looked up and he seemed genuinely surprised when he saw Cara standing there.

  
"I am sorry sir but you are trespassing on private property." Cara said calmly and the man's face suddenly broke up in a large white grin. Something about him gave Cara the creeps. Maybe it was his pale and lifeless eyes or the fake smile, perhaps both.

  
"I'm sorry. I did not see any signs. I'll be on my way immediately. Once again I am very sorry."

  
The man smiled again, and Cara nodded. He quickly jumped into the boat and in no time he was out at sea heading away from the island. Cara watched the small boat disappear into the sunset, after that she hurried home. The way the man had talked and something about his whole being made her double check that all doors were locked and that the windows were closed. She sincerely hoped the man would would have his little rendezvous somewhere far from here. She had no reason not call the police though. The man had been nothing but polite and he had left when she asked him too, and just because he asked someone for money it did not mean he was up to something illegal. But still she did not like him.


	21. Eye of the Storm

Thranduil swallowed the last piece of the pastry and took his time to process the information that Legolas had provided. They were in great danger that much was clear and the longer the keys remained here the chance of a new orc attack grew. But where would they be safe? In Cara's world? Or could the orcs show up there too? How did they find a way to Valinor and where did they come from? There had to be much greater forces at work here.

  
Thranduil shook his head and fisted his hand in the napkin. Legolas was still eating, seemingly liking new maid's cooking. Amaria was good ,Thranduil had to admit, and pretty, with a luscious body. Very tempting, but still not like...

  
"Damn it!" He should not be thinking about Cara. Thranduil angrily tossed the napkin on his empty plate.

  
Legolas looked up at his father with a questioning look in his eyes.

  
"What is the matter father?" He asked.

  
"The orcs." Thranduil lied, or it was not exactly a lie, because he had indeed spent much time thinking about the orc attacks since Legolas had told him about them. Still it was not what he had been thinking about in this very moment. Cara was very much a distraction.

  
"How did the orcs get here? Is Valinor not supposed to be a protected realm? And where did they come from, Middle Earth?"

  
"The oracle did not say. I have told you already. She just said "The Dark World" and I do not know if she meant Middle Earth or somewhere else. I mean, if you have been to a completely different world from what you have told me, why could not several others exist as well?"

  
"I suppose you are right about this, and in any case I do not like it." Thranduil sighed. "And why on Arda did the Valar choose me to take care of this? You, Legolas I can understand, you have always been noble and brave, but me? There were probably a million better choices they could have made."

  
Legolas looked at Thranduil like he had gone insane, and Thranduil suddenly felt full of regret. At least he had said it now. Said what he should have said so many years ago, but never did. He had finally given Legolas credit for what he had done during the war of the ring. He remembered when Legolas had first returned home after the war. The people had greeted him with flowers and admiration, but Thranduil had simply slapped his son in the face. The only thing he had felt at that time was anger. Anger that his son had defied him and gone on the quest risking his own life in the process. He could never endure the thought of losing Legolas. His son was all he had, even if he had been too emotionally detached to show it the way he should have as a father.

  
"I am so sorry Legolas. I truly am. I could not have asked for a better and braver son than you and I should have said it sooner. I was such a different person back then."

  
Legolas nodded slowly, like he had nothing to say, but suddenly he just reached over the small table and hugged Thranduil. It felt awkward at first, because they had not shared this kind of intimacy since Legolas was an elfling, but slowly Thranduil relaxed and sighed. Legolas let go of him and smiled.

  
"It matters not what happened long ago father, and perhaps you do not give yourself enough credit. You were a good king."

  
"Do not flatter me Legolas. As a king I might have been able to hold the enemy back longer than what might have been expected, but still gradually I lost territory and the lands were poisoned by the shadow. Inside my heart was dark, and so many lives were lost. Too many lives.."

  
"Those were dark times, and in the end you managed to drive the shadow from your kingdom."

  
"After you and your brave friends had managed to destroy the ring. Without you we would all have been doomed."

  
Legolas sighed.

  
"Can we just leave it here? Can you not simply accept that the Valar have faith in you?

  
"I have never shared your faith son, but I have accepted my destiny, believe it or not. If we could only find out what that destiny is."

  
Legolas nodded. Thranduil took a sip of his drink and could not help but to feel restless. There was one thing he had been thinking about doing ever since he came back from The Island though.

  
"There is something I would like to give back you Legolas. Something that belonged to you a long time ago."

Thranduil got up from his chair and disappeared to a storage room nearby. Legolas continued with the last piece of pastry quietly while Thranduil searched the dusty shelves in the room until he found what he was looking for. A bow wrapped in soft linen fabric. It had been forgotten in this storage room for so long, and Thranduil hoped Legolas would like the gesture. He honestly knew that Legolas did not care much for surprises, but maybe this would be different. The important thing was the simple fact that he had finally started walking down the rocky path to a better relationship with his son. Maybe the bow would be sort of a token of that?

  
Thranduil returned to the dining room a few minutes later with the wrapped bow in his hand. Legolas raised his eyebrow.

  
"The shape looks oddly familiar. Could it really be..."

  
"Yes it is. Here son. I kept it for you all these years."

  
Thranduil unwrapped the bow and gave it to Legolas.

  
Legolas ran his hand over the smooth wood and the elegant metal decor. The bow he had used during the war of the ring, given to him by Lady Galadriel, looked just like it had back then. Thranduil could see that having it in his hands seemed to give Legolas an extra boost of confidence. The eyes of the younger elf were filled with tears.

  
"I don't know what to say father. I thought I had lost it years ago in one of my many moves, but it was here all along!"

  
"You'll need to restring it. After that maybe you are up for a few rounds of practice before we go to bed? I sure need to work on my fighting skills. I am rusty to say the least."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
Way past midnight father and son had finally completed a few practice rounds of both archery and sword fighting, and just as usual Legolas bested his father when it came to using bow and arrows and Thranduil was the better swordsman. They had then gone for swim in the ocean and now they were both standing on the dimly lit terrace outside Thranduil's bedroom with wet hair and towels wrapped around their hips. The night was beautiful, the villa was bathing in moonlight and the air around them filled with the sound of night creatures. It was deceivingly calm and beautiful..

  
"The calm before the storm.." Thranduil mused.

  
"I think the storm is already upon us, father. You should have seen the destruction that the orc attacks left behind." Legolas said.

  
"Yes, you may be right. Perhaps we are in the eye of the storm then. I have seen too many times what kind of destruction those foul creatures can accomplish."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
"Perhaps we should rest now. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

  
"You are right. Good night son."

  
"Good night father. And thank you for reuniting me with my bow again." Legolas smiled.

  
Next morning father and son ate their breakfast fast and in complete silence. There was something in the air, something important and dangerous coming their way. Thranduil had always trusted his gut feeling and he was not going to stop today. They were soon on their way to meet up with Tildara to seen what more they could learn from her about the situation. Thranduil figured that since the elleth had a gift for seeing things that were beyond what a normal elf could see, she would be able to help them make sense of the situation they were in.

  
After the orc attacks it was pretty obvious it was not completely safe to travel and both were geared up for more than just a walk in the woods. Thranduil in black leather and light armor with one of his sword strapped to his side. Legolas was dressed in his usual green and brown with his bow and additional fighting knives. Both had braided their hair like warriors.

  
"No signs of orcs here at least." Legolas sounded relieved when they reached the little house by the sea.

  
Everything looked as it always did and just as almost every other time Thranduil had visited Elaron was mending his nets and Tildara working on the flowerbeds. The elfling had perhaps grown a little and was currently playing with, or actually chewing on a leather ball, sitting on a blanket in the grass. Tildara was humming quietly and Thranduil almost didn't want to ruin the perfectly calm scene that unfolded right before him. Luckily he did not have to interrupt, Tildara suddenly looked up from the flowerbed and smiled when she saw Thranduil and Legolas coming.

  
"Thranduil! I was expecting you sooner, but no matter, here you are and you seem to be doing well!"

  
"I was going to say the same about you. I am happy to see that you are safe."

  
The smile on Tildara's face suddenly vanished and she nodded and looked to the ground.

  
"Yes, we are lucky I guess. My heart grieves for all who lost their lives, loved once and homes. Never did I expect to seen dark times like these again."

  
She looked up again and a shadow of her former smile returned again as she laid her eyes on Legolas.

  
"You must be Thranduil's son."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
"Yes I am. My name is Legolas and I am very pleased to meet you."

  
Tildara took Legolas' hand and placed her other hand on his chest. She closed her eyes for a short while and when she opened them again she said:

  
"I can see why The Valar chose you Legolas. You are strong, but you have a very different kind of strength than your father. The two of you complete each other very well. Never forget that. Differences are what makes us strong, not weak, in spite of what many might think."

  
Legolas nodded silently and Thranduil thought he could see something that looked faintly like a tear in his son's eye. But maybe it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. They just stood there quietly for a while when Tildara lifted up the elfling and moved him inside the house to sleep. In the meantime Elraon came over and chatted to Thranduil. It was the usual, weather, fishing and of course the orcs. Thranduil liked the elf very much, but today he did not feel like chatting. Not even about the orc attacks, he already knew what there was to know it seemed, and he was now anxiously waiting for what Tildara had to tell him instead. 

  
"He is sleeping now. Follow me."

  
Tildara showed Legolas and Thranduil to the backside of the house where a path paved with white rocks lead into the woods. Thranduil had seen the path before and had always wondered where it lead. Now he would find out, it seemed. They walked in silence until they reached a small clearing with a spring and an old pedestal with a stone bowl on top. Tildara filled an old bucket with spring water and poured it into the stone bowl. She then closed her eyes and whispered a few quiet words that neither Thranduil, nor Legolas could hear.

  
"Legolas. It is your turn. Step forward and see what the mirror will show you."

  
Legolas did not hesitate. He stepped right to the bowl and stared down into the dark water. The courage and the determination was probably what Thranduil admired most about his son. In the beginning Legolas seemed calm as he looked into the water, but his expression gradually changed to one of pure horror. Eventually he took a step back, shaking his head in desperation.

  
"No, no.." Was all Legolas could say.

  
"Remember that what the mirror shows you, is not always the future, or the past. Sometimes it is just shows what might become reality. The mirror will guide you to change the future, not doom you." Tildara said and after that she looked straight at Thranduil. He knew exactly what that expression meant, and he swallowed and moved closer to the bowl hesitantly.

  
At first the water was dark, only reflecting his own face but then the surface changed. He saw burning cities, the faces of orcs, but none of this was familiar to him in any personal way, not before he saw a beach that looked strangely familiar. It was Cara's Island! His heart started racing in his chest. The beach was not empty, as he remembered it instead there were dead bodies, and blood everywhere. It was a massacre. Then he saw orcs smashing the doors and windows of Cara's yellow house with axes trying to get in. He could hear the screams from inside. After that the mirror went completely black and Tharnduil could feel himself loosing balance and nearly falling over. He had to take a deep breath before he looked up at Legolas and Tildara.

  
"There is no time to waste! I need to get to The Island. Something terrible is about to happen!


	22. The Party

After what that had happened the past weeks, and her last encounter with Thranduil Cara was happy she was no longer alone. It was the day of the big party and now she was lounging in the sun on the pier next to her friend Erica. Erica had arrived the day before and both the girls had been shopping in town before heading back to the island. Now they both had new bikinis on and the house was stocked with food and liquor for the guests. Since Steve, now formally known as "the asshole", was no longer invited Cara had to buy all the liquor herself, but it didn't really matter that much. She had decided to start a new chapter in her life and people like Steve would not be part of it. Thranduil might be gone, most probably forever, but she still had learned a lot from the time they had spent together.

  
Cara sighed deeply and watched Erica who was lounging in the sun next to her. Erica's dark skin was shining with water drops after their last swim and her black hair was done up in a tight bun on top of her head. 

  
"Enough of that already! What happened to you Cara? Who is he? I mean, it's quite obvious it's about a guy. Isn't it?"

  
"Look it's complicated Erica.."

  
"It always is when it comes to men and you. He can't be that different."

  
"Well, what if I said he is? Not that it really matters anymore since I will probably never see him again."

  
"Come on. As I said he can't be that different. Men are always men. Simple creatures really, once you learn to understand them. Unless he is some kind of alien that is." Erica burst into laughter and Cara forced herself to laugh along.

  
"That bikini suits you well by the way. Pink is a good color for you Erica." Cara tried to change the subject, but Erica was not that easily fooled.

  
"Hey, do not try to change the subject! If you simply don't want to tell me, then fine. I respect that, but maybe you'd be better off talking to someone reliable. Like me."

  
"I'll think about it Erica. It's just complicated that's all."

  
"Fine. Just tell me if he is hot at least."

  
"Yea, he is hot. Really hot."

  
Cara smiled and for the first time she was able to think of Thranduil in any other way than with pain. He might be lost to her, but he had also managed to change her a lot for the better in the short time they had been hanging out. Maybe that was the purpose of it all?

  
A few hours later Cara was standing in front of the mirror. She was dressed in a short white dress and black very high heeled Gucci pumps. Maybe not the most practical pair of shoes, but when they would hang on the beach later she could simply kick them off and run around barefoot. She had done her hair and her make up and now she was ready for the evening to start. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror and said to her self:

  
"This will be a night to remember."

  
Still, however much she tried to tell herself that everything was good, and the night was going to be magic, she could not relax fully. Somewhere deep inside here there was a feeling that she had carried with her since Thranduil left. Things would never go back to what they were and keeping all this up was just a charade. Erica though had been super excited all day when they had prepared the food and decorated the terrace and the living room.

  
Cara slowly descended down the stairs from her bedroom to the living room where everything was perfect. The party buffet was laid out on the large table in the middle of the room and on a smaller table there were bottles of champagne and other beverages in ice buckets and glasses for the guests. 34 people in total were coming, but to be honest at the moment all Cara wanted to do was to get a glass of champagne in her hand and drink until the uneasy feeling she felt was flushed away with the bubbly liquid.

  
Erica was standing in the middle of the room dressed in a green maxi dress and she smiled like a kid in a candy store. She and Cara had always been partners in crime. They had met five years ago when they were both still modeling and they had partied around the world together and in the process even developed a true friendship. None of them had managed to get really successful as models though, and Erica who had quit just a few month after Cara was currently working in a department store. They still had much in common though, most of all perhaps the feeling of not belonging anywhere. Perhaps Erica was the only true friend Cara had in this world? She had no shortage of peoplewho wanted to hang out and party with her, but something deeper? No. Cara swallowed and the need for a glass of champagne became more evident than ever. This was not a night when she could allow herself to be sad. This was the night of the summer, something she had planned for a very long time.

  
"Everything looks perfect! It will be the party of the year!"

  
Erica giggled and finally opened up the first bottle. She filled two glasses and gave one of them to Cara.

  
"Cheers! Danny and Michelle just called. They are on the way from the mainland as we speak, will be here in about ten minutes. This will be a magic night!"

  
"Cheers! And thank you for helping me out." Cara said with a smile.

  
They both downed the champagne a bit too fast and when their glasses were empty Erica dragged Cara out on the terrace.

  
"Come on! Let's go down to the pier to greet the guests! And please forget about that dude, at least for tonight. Trust me you'll find something better soon."

  
Cara just nodded and followed Erica down to the pier.

  
Two hours later the party was in full swing and people were enjoying themselves, Cara however was sitting on her own on the balcony outside her bedroom with a glass of champagne and a cigar in her hand. It was her third glass of the evening, and somehow she just did not feel like drinking anymore. Somehow that relaxed feeling she was waiting for never came. Still she was happy that everyone enjoyed themselves, but she could not shake the feeling of something being not right. To be quite honest she did not really feel like she was missing out on anything by sitting here either, and obviously the people down on the terrace and on the beach didn't seem to miss her much. Maybe this was how it had always been? Maybe she was just one more pretty, but expendable face in the crowd.

  
She sighed and tasted the thick smoke of the cigar. At least the scenery was beautiful from here and the music was not bad either. The sun was setting and on the terrace people were chatting, drinking and dancing. Some were sitting on the beach in groups and out on the sea there were a few boats anchored. Everything seemed like a dream, the laughter of the guests so distant.

  
Suddenly something caught Cara's eye. A small boat heading towards the Island. It was the same boat that she had seen the night after Thranduil had left, the boat belonging to the creepy man who she had found talking on his phone on the beach. Cara had not liked him, and he surely was up to no good if he kept coming back trespassing on her private property like this.

  
Cara got up from her chair, she needed to take a look at what was going on. She grabbed her phone in case she would have to call the police and prayed to higher powers that no one would notice her sneaking away from the party for a few minutes. She was wrong. As soon as she had passed down the stairs she was met by a shining white smile and a cloud of sticky men's cologne. It was Steve, apparently he had arrived uninvited and as much as it pissed Cara off she had other things to take care of at the moment. Steve had other plans:

  
"Hello Sexy." He smiled and grabbed Cara's arm.

  
"I thought I told you not to come here. You are not welcome." Cara tried to pull away from Steve but he just grabbed a tighter hold of her arm.

  
"I go wherever I want to go, babe. And I wouldn't miss a party like this, or you for that matter."

  
"I have things to do and I suggest you leave."

  
Cara finally managed to get away from Steve and rushed out on the terrace where people were dancing, drinking and having fun. Luckily Steve seemed too drunk to care to follow her, something she was very thankful for. She would deal with that asshole later, but first she had to check what was going on with the man in the boat. Cara hurried along the beach before she took a shortcut through the woods to the place where she had found the man and his boat earlier.

  
Passing through the trees she suddenly caught an odd and very unpleasant smell. Unwashed bodies, sweat and something she simply could not put a name on, but that scared here to the bone. Someone or something was on the island, something really bad. When she caught a glimpse of the boat by the shore she changed her plan. Instead of confronting the man, who oddly enough was dressed in a business suit and carrying a large briefcase, she hid in the bushes nearby.  
The man walked nervously in circles on the beach and checked his wrist watch continuously. Suddenly Cara could hear the sound of heavy feet, loud breathing and branches breaking, it almost sounded like a pack of insane elephants were attacking, but instead of just regular animals it was something far worse.

Cara tried as hard as she could not to scream when she saw twelve hideous creatures emerge from the forest. They were all heavily armed with swords, spears, bows and weapons Cara didn't even know existed before now. Their skin was gray and their faces grotesquely apelike with fangs sticking out of their mouths and evil looking yellow or red eyes. Worst of all was the smell though, it creeped Cara out more than anything. Seeing the creatures, the only thing that came to mind was orcs. Thranduil had told her stories of them numerous times, and it was clear there were few creatures that he despised more than the orcs. She could not agree more.

  
The man in the suit smiled a white and very forced smile when he faced the orcs. The biggest of the creatures, who seemed to be the leader of the pack, stepped forward. And the man said:

  
"Nazg, what a pleasure to see you again and conclude our business."

  
"Shut up human, I don't give a fuck about your pleasantries. Where are our keys?"

  
"Easy, easy. The keys are right here. I must tell you it was no easy task to get hold of them. The one we found in Iraq was a real challenge to smuggle out of the country and..."

  
"Let me see them! Now!"

  
The man in the suit started to look pale and his smile faded while his fingers fumbled with the locks on the briefcase. The orcs stared at him like hungry wolves, all besides one, the smallest of them. That orc kept staring and sniffing the air in Cara's direction. She almost stopped breathing, panic rising in her chest. What if they would find her? But then suddenly the small orc lost focus when the leader roared like a crazy animal.

  
"And where is the third one?"

  
"Eh, we don't have it. Not yet..."

  
"Fuck you, filthy, incompetent human scum! The key is here on this island and you have not found it?! You will pay for this!"

  
"B..b..but.."

  
The man in the suit started panicking and backed away towards the boat when the orc leader lifted his sword. it was all over in a few seconds, and it was the first time Cara had seen a person die right in front of her eyes. The sword severed the head from the neck and the blood sprayed over the white sand and the orc leaders face. The other orcs were cheering and Cara had to do everything in her power not to scream again. What would they do if they found her here?

  
"Weak fuckin' human..." The leader kicked the head like it was a football along the shoreline and then picked up the briefcase that laid open on the beach. Before the beast closed it Cara could see a glimpse of two large black keys, most probably made of stone.

  
"Get to work boys! We have a key to find here, but first there are a few annoying humans on this island we have to take care of. Tonight we will feast on manflesh!"

Suddenly the small orc started sniffing in Cara's direction again.

"Boss, I smell elf meat.. Disgusting elf meat.."

Cara started running as fast as she could back towards the house and the party.


	23. Black Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kudos if you know from what film I've borrowed the "Party is over" line. Hint; It's by Peter Jackson and made in the 90's.  
> Warnings: Blood and violence

"Are you out of your mind, father?!"

  
Legolas rushed after Thranduil through the woods with a rabbit's foot exactly like the one his father wore around his neck. A gift from Tiladra to make the journey to the magical tree as swift as possible. Legolas was pretty sure his father had gone mad, but he could not leave him and let him go alone to that Island. Only the Valar knew what was really going on there..

  
"I never thought you were the type who would say no to slicing some good old orc meat, Legolas." Thranduil had a mad smile on his lips.

  
"No, it's just that we have no idea what awaits us there. What if it is not orcs attacking? Didn't you say they have powerful weapons in that other world. I get that it is a lot at stake here, but you do have the key here, so they can't find that on the island, and..."

  
Thranduil suddenly stopped dead and turned to Legolas. Legolas had probably never seen his father look so intimidating and royal before. Thranduil's back was straight, his eyes burned with rage and the afternoon sun shone on his hair and made it look like a shining halo.

  
"It is about more than those keys, son. Either you are with me or your not. There is no time to get any help. We are on our own, or I am on my own if you do not follow. It is not really your fight probably, you do as you wish."

  
Legolas swallowed and shook his head. That woman must mean a lot to Thranduil, and his father was right, this was about more than just the keys. Many innocent lives might be at stake. He if anyone, knew what terrible things the orcs did to their victims. It was not something he would wish even for his worst enemies. He nodded slowly.

  
"I'm with you father, but at least tell me what her name is. I am no fool, I know it is about a woman. I know you well enough to see that much."

  
"Her name is Cara." Thranduil simply said like he was not surprised at all. He probably knew just as well as Legolas that they both could read each other very well after all the years they had spent together even if their relationship had been all but good.

  
"And she is human?"

  
"No, at least not entirely. You'll see for yourself when we get there."

  
Legolas nodded. He had figured that much. His father might have changed a lot over the last few months, but he still could not see him falling for a human and perhaps that was a good thing. He did not think that Thranduil could deal with more losses of loved once in his life than those he had already suffered, and besides, old habits died hard. The Thranduil Legolas knew would not see a human woman as desirable enough to be a potential mate or plaything for that matter. Still there had to be something very special about this woman, and it made Legolas curious to say the least.

  
"Let's just hope for everyones sake that what the mirror showed you was not reality. You know very well that everything you can see there is not what will come to pass. Perhaps we will find everything peaceful on that island.."

  
"I know, that is what I hope too, but my gut feeling tells me otherwise. I am however truly happy you are with me."

  
Legolas simply nodded and Thranduil started running again. Some things were hard to get used to, and Thranduil showing his gratefulness was one of them. It made Legolas happy though. Very happy.

  
The crossing over to the other world was less dramatic than Legolas had expected it to be, and under different circumstances he would have liked to stay and chat with the peculiar tree for a while, but there was no time. Thranduil was restless and irritable to the point of being insufferable. Legolas could understand why, but still it did not make them go from one place to another faster.

  
When they stepped out on the other side it took Legolas barely a few seconds to realize that something was terribly wrong on the island. While the glade in the woods around the large oak was peaceful and covered in the last rays of the evening sun he could hear terrible sounds. People screaming, and the unmistakable sound of orcs roaring. His hands automatically grabbed his bow and put an arrow on the string. Next to him Thranduil had drawn his sword.  
"What is the plan? You know the terrain here. I do not." Legolas looked at Thranduil awaiting orders.

  
"They seem to be around the house. It is in that direction. Not far along that path." Thranduil pointed towards a small path and Legolas nodded and Thranduil continued. "The path leads to the beach right beside the house. We stay in the tree line until we have a picture of what is happening."

  
Legolas nodded again and started following his father along the path, both moving as quietly as only elves could. When they saw the trees open up they hid behind some bushes and assessed the situation. It was worse than what Legolas had imagined, and now he could fully understand why the sight in the mirror had sent his father running here. The beach was covered in dead bodies and the white sand stained with red blood. He counted around thirty bodies, all young men and women. Two more, a woman and a man were screaming and trying to escape along the beach to the yellow house with roaring orcs running after them. One orc was heading into the woods dragging a screaming crying woman dressed in a green dress behind him in her long black hair. She was bleeding from a deep cut in her leg. Legolas felt infuriated.

  
"I'll take down as many as I can from the tree line, and after that we will finish them off one by one. No one will escape!"'

  
With that Legolas fired his first arrow that hit the orc who was dragging the woman towards the trees. After that he continued with the two who were closest to the man and the woman running towards the house. By then the orcs had realized something was happening, and the confusion created by the arrows taking down some of them was the perfect opportunity for Thranduil and Legolas to enter the fight. They rushed towards the orcs and Legolas managed to fire two more arrows that both found, and took down their targets on the way. It slowed him down though, and Thranduil was the first one to slam his sword into the thick neck of an orc who had already dropped his weapons to search the dead bodies on the beach.

  
"Party is over!" Thranduil yelled with a cruel smile on his lips and Legolas could also feel the rush of adrenaline flowing through his veins.

  
His father was heading towards the orcs who were pursuing the people fleeing towards the house. The man had now stumbled and fallen and was crawling in the sand with a small orc closing in on him. The woman also seemed to be slowing down and she limped painfully holding her left side. Her white dress was covered with blood and it was obvious she was injured. The orcs seemed to finally have come to their senses and tried to line up and form some kind of battle formation, but had no chance against the elf king. Thranduil seemed like he had gone berserk, and it even scared Legolas a little. But now was not the time to think, he had work to do.

  
Only one of the orcs did not seem to notice what was happening to his brothers. The small one, who seemed focused only on the man crawling in the sand. He did not rush to his friends aid against the elves and his red yes stared at the man with bloodlust and insanity.

  
"Please, please! Don't kill me! I'll do anything. I'll pay you anything. I'm rich, please don't kill me. You can have my yacht, and my Bentley..Just don't kill me! Oh God! Please!"

  
The man pleaded, but the small orc did not stop, he simply lifted his axe and jammed it into the mans head. Legolas threw one of his knives and ended the orcs existence abruptly, but it was too late. There were still more orcs left on the beach including a huge one wearing much more sophisticated armor and weapons than the others. The woman had collapsed on the beach and while Thranduil was occupied with slicing orc after orc with his sword. It was the woman that Thranduil was cutting his way to, that much was obvious.

  
The huge orc came running towards Legolas. With only one of his knives he had to circle around the beast and avoid the blows from his huge sword. This one was very much competent. He knew how to use his weapons and the closest thing Legolas could think of was one of Sarumans Uruks. Perhaps this beast was somehow related to them?

  
Legolas however, used his incredible speed and agility to out maneuver the orc, who had difficulty following with his heavy armor. Legolas got behind him and cut off his achilles tendons. With a horrible growl the beast fell to the ground and dropped his sword. Legolas got down, stabbed him in the chest and abdomen and grabbed the orcs arms with one hand and pushed his knife to the ocrs throat.

  
"Who are you working for and what are you doing here?" He asked calmly.

  
"You might kill us now elf, but there are billions more like me where I come from. My master will never stop until you are all dead and he has what is rightfully his."

  
"I said who are you working for!" Legolas screamed. There was something about the way the orc stared at him defiantly and arrogantly that angered him beyond measure.

  
"The Dark Lord. Your Death!" The orc chuckled bizarrely until he started coughing blood on Legolas tunic. There was nothing more to be done Legolas realized and cut the orcs throat. It was not to give him a quick passing, but simply because it gave Legolas a raw sort of satisfaction to feel the blade cutting through the windpipe of the filthy beast.

  
When he was done he realized the beach was completely quiet. He got up on his feet and looked around. All the orcs were lying there dead in the last rays of the setting sun next to the dead humans in their glittering short dresses and neat black suits. Black and red blood was staining the sand. It was one of the most bizarre battlefields Legolas had ever seen. If one could call it a battlefield at all, it was more like a scene of a massacre. This was not victory either, it was just too many completely innocent lives lost. They had arrived to late.

  
Thranduil was kneeling in the sand next to the woman in the white dress and Legolas went over to them. The woman's eyes were closed and Thranduil had ripped a part of his tunic to bind her wound and stop the bleeding. She looked like she was in pretty bad shape.

  
"Cara, look at me. Everything will be ok. It's not much more than a scratch."

  
The woman nodded, and opened her large green eyes. For a moment Legolas thought she reminded him of someone he knew, but he was not exactly sure whom. Thranduil placed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear, smiled and lifted her up in his arms.

  
"We must leave Legolas. She needs someone to take care of her wound. She has lost a lot of blood and it's not safe here for us."

  
"Erica, please, we have to find her." The woman whispered. "One of them dragged her towards the woods.. Please" Then she pointed at a square black object in the sand. "The briefcase, take it. They have two of those keys in it... Find Erica, please. She has a green dress." After that the woman seemed to slip into unconsciousness again.

"I'll get her friend, father. You take the briefcase and hurry back towards the tree. There are boats heading our way and who knows if there are more orcs coming."

  
Thranduil nodded and Legolas hurried towards the tree line where he had seen the other woman. She was still lying there in the sand next to the dead orc and she seemed to be unconscious, but alive. There was no time to see to her wounds, the boats were getting closer, so Legolas just picked her up and started running along the path to the tree.

  
When he came to the large oak Thranduil was already there with Cara in his arms and together they crossed over to Valinor with two women from another world and one mysterious briefcase.


	24. Crossover

Cara's body wasn't overly heavy in his arms, but yet she was still weighing Thranduil down. He couldn't believe everything that had transpired on The Island. Why had he left her like this, unprotected and helpless? He was a fool, a damned fool. He tried to run as fast as he could, the briefcase chafing his arm and side. Next to him, Legolas was struggling to keep up with Cara's friend in his arms. Thranduil knew his son was strong, but he could also see the dark skinned woman in his arms, looking more and more lifeless with each step.

  
"She won't make it much longer!" Legolas shouted as they passed swiftly through the terrain of Tol Eressea.

  
"I know son, just keep on going. If anyone can save her now it is Tildara. If the Valar are on our side, she will live."

  
"I never figured you were the religious type, father." Legolas gave him a lifeless smile that didn't reach all the way to his eyes and Thranduil did not answer. He just kept on running, going forward. Cara's face was so pale. What had he done?

Leaving her to be killed by orcs just for the sake of his own pride and his short temper. He mentally slapped himself. No use repeating the same once again. The past was the past and all he could do now was try to work for a better future.  
Soon enough the landscape opened up and the cottage became visible in the warm glow of the sunset. Thranduil didn't know how long they ran for, but finally they had almost reached their destination.

  
"You'll be ok, Cara." Tharanduil whispered in the unconscious womans ear, and when he did, he noticed her ear was not rounded as the human ears anymore, it had a slight point to it. He smiled when he noticed himself use the word "OK", one of Cara's words. But it was suitable. Despite all the flaws of her world, they did have some very good words and expressions.

  
Elaron dropped the gardening tools he was using and came running towards them, looking paler than a dead person.

  
"By the name of the Valar, what is going on?" The elf looked more than confused when he watched Thranduil and his son carrying the two women. Both father and son were sprayed with blood, black and red.

  
"She won't survive for long, she is human, please take her first." Legolas pleaded and gave the human girl over to Elaron.

  
The other elf nodded and Legolas took the briefcase from Thranduil. Elaron rushed to the cottage with the human girl and Thranduil and Legolas followed walking. The scenery was as beautiful as ever, but a part of Thranduil felt that nothing would ever be the same again in Valinor after he had brought the two women over. But on the other hand no one had stopped him. If the Valar had really objected they wouldn't be here would they? Caras eyelashes fluttered, and he reached out to stroke her hair.

  
"She will make it, father. I'm sure of that, but I don't know about the human girl though, she is in really bad shape." Thranduil wasn't sure, but maybe he could see a faint hint of a tear in his son's eyes. Perhaps it was a reminder of his long lasting friendship with the mortals that was making itself known. But Thranduil could still not relate, even if his son's pain probably was very real. He sighed and kept Cara closer to his chest. Her breath was calm and her heart steady. When he stepped into the cottage Tildara was gone and Elaron stepped forward.

  
"The human woman is in really bad shape. Whether or not she will make it is up to the Valar at this point. My wife is a skilled healer, and she is doing everything in her power, but the outcome is difficult to predict at this point."

  
Thranduil nodded and followed Elaron to a spare room where he put down Cara on a narrow, but clean bed. The room was light and simple, but cozy in a very common way. Very far from Thranduil's own more pompous aesthetic, but he was sure Cara would feel at peace recovering here.

  
"My wife told me to clean her wound. I do know a thing or two about healing the wounded myself. After eons in the same household one can't help but pick up a thing or two. We just need to get that dress off her."

  
Thranduil reach for his knife and slowly cut the fabric of Cara's white dress and as he did, he swore that when she was well enough he would buy her as many new once as she wanted. Elaron was mixing some kind of liquids and herbs in bowls by the table and Thranduil was waiting impatiently with Cara's hand in his.

  
"She is lucky. She has lost a lot of blood, but you managed to stop the bleeding, and the cut is not that deep"

  
Thranduil nodded and Elaron started treating the wound with a strong smelling brown liquid. Maybe it was the smell, or maybe it was the sensation, but suddenly Cara jolted awake, her eyes filled with painc. She screamed, but then abruptly stopped when she met Thranduil's eyes. He smiled and calmly stroke her head.

  
"Where am I?" Her voice was weak and raspy.

  
"You are among friends. We will help you get better. I just have to clean your wound first. I know it stings, but I'll try to be careful." The older elf smiled.

  
"You will be ok Cara. I promise" Thranduil smiled and caressed her hand.

  
"And Erica?"

  
"She is being taken care of as we speak by a very skilled healer."

  
Tears started running down Cara's cheeks, and she shook her head and slowly closed her eyes. Her quiet sobs echoed in the room. Thranduil didn't know what to say anymore. He just held her hand and tried to soothe her.

  
"Please give her this, it will help her with the pain, and make her sleep" Elaron broke the spell as he gave Thranduil a goblet filled with a clear liquid. Thranduil helped Cara drink, and she greedily accepted. Anything to dull the pain. He could hardly blame her.

  
A few hours later the four elves were sitting around the table in the kitchen. In front of each of them was a cup of tea and the mood in the room was anything but cheerful. At least Legolas had managed to borrow a clean change of clothes, but there was nothing that fit Thranduil in the house and he was still wearing the blood stained garments from the fight.

Cara and the human girl were both sleeping and on the stove a soup was boiling. Tildara had insisted they would all need a meal, and perhaps she was right, but Thranduil did not feel hungry. He had placed the briefcase with the keys under the bench and it was a constant reminder of both his own failure and the danger they were in.

  
"I will leave at dawn. It is too dangerous to keep the keys here" Thranduil finally said after sipping his tea in silence.

  
"And where will you take them?" Legolas looked as worried as the others.

  
"To The Golden Woods. I can't risk your lives by letting them remain here. My cousin and his wife are the only elves who can keep them safe. She with her magic and he with his army, And I need to arrange a meeting with my cousin Celeborn, Galadriel and Lord Elrond. If we join together we might be able to get an audience with the high king and convince him to help us. This is a threat for the whole continent after all."

  
Legolas sighed. Tildara nodded.

  
"That is a wise thing to do. I'm sure the king will support you." Tildara sounded optimistic, but the expression in Legolas' eyes told a different story.

  
"Father, may I speak to you in private?"

  
"Please excuse us."

  
Elaron and Tildara nodded and Legolas followed Thranduil outside. The night was dark and the stars shone from a cloudless sky. The only sound they could hear was the crickets and gentle waves beating against the shore. Legolas cleared his throat.

  
"I must warn you that getting an audience with the king might be close to impossible."

  
"Really. How so? Surely he must have heard of the orc attacks. I've never met him, but, as a king he should have his realms best interest at heart."

  
"The king has not given any commoner an audience for two thousand years. I've lived in Valmar for a long time. I know this for a fact. I his eyes none of you are any more important than a random farmer or merchant, and he has no love for the former residents of Middle Earth. If it wouldn't be for the will of the Valar he would not have allowed any of us here in the first place."

  
"But your father in law, is he not one of the king's advisors?"

  
Legolas sighed.

'  
"FORMER father in law. And that man despises me, you know that as well as I do, father. He told me that time and time again during my marriage."

  
"Very well. Say what you will Legolas, but at least I have to try."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
"So would I. And I will send a message to my former father in law, if that makes you happy. Just don't expect any miracles."


	25. Back to Life

Cara woke up staring at a white roof with dark brown joists. There was a throbbing pain in her side and she was covered with a fluffy duvet. It was quiet besides some birds singing outside. The sheets smelled fresh and clean and when she turned her head she could see daylight falling on the wooden floor from a small window framed with white curtains.

  
Then she remembered. The massacre on the beach, running from the orcs and getting slashed in the side with a dagger. Her hands started shaking and her heart beating faster. She remembered the stench of blood, skulls split in half, Erica being dragged away by one of the beasts and her own hands trying to stop the bleeding as she tried to run. Cara's was shaking violently now.

  
"Help me!" Was the only thing she manage to shout.

  
She could feel her windpipe constricting, her body shaking. She could not breath. It felt like the room around her came crushing down on her. She tried desperately to get up from the bed. It felt like her side was on fire, and she fell flat on her face, and hit her head on the wooden floor. There she remained for what could have been minutes or hours, she was not sure herself.

  
Strangely the knock to her head seemed to make her thought process a bit clearer. The floor was cold under her body and gradually it felt a bit easier to breath. Suddenly the door flug open behind her and someone rushed into the room.

  
"Are you hurt?" The voice was male and melodic, but Cara couldn't see who it belonged to since she was flat on the floor, but it sounded vaguely familiar.

  
"I...I don't think so. Maybe." At least she was breathing almost normally now, and her memories slowly kept coming back to her. Not only the massacre on the beach, but also Thranduil and someone else saving her and taking her away from the Island to another world. Their world.

  
"Let me help you up." The voice told Cara, and she could feel the person turning her around and lifting her up.

Cara found herself looking into a pair of clear blue eyes as she was gently lowered back on the bed. Her breathing was almost normal now but the dread in her heart was still there. She broke eye contact and watched the male elf closer as he sat down on a chair beside the bed.

  
"I'm Legolas. Thranduils' son." The elf studied her with an expression she couldn't really decipher.

  
"I'm sorry. I just panicked when I woke up. What about Erica, is she ok?"

  
Legolas was quiet for a while, a bit to long for Cara's liking. Her heart started beating faster again. The elf sitting in front of her had some resemblance to Thranduil but he was smaller and had quite different facial features than his father. His long blond hair was braided at the sides and he was wearing discreet green clothes and black boots. Legolas sighed and finally said:

  
"She is being taken care of the best way possible, but I can't lie to you. Things are not looking good for her."

  
Cara felt like she was sinking down a black hole. Legolas took a deep breath and looked at his own hands. A chilling silence ruled the room for a few minutes as Cara could feel the tears filling her eyes. This was all her fault. How foolish was she to invite a bunch of people to The Island when she had seen what the key had done to Thranduil. Of course she had no idea about that a band of orcs would show up, but still. She had many lives on her conscience now. Not to mention one of her few really good friends, who was fighting for her life in this very moment. Could she even get back to her own world? What did she have to get back to?

  
"Are you in pain?" Legolas asked.

  
Cara nodded. Yes she was in pain. Her side was still burning, but more so the pain was mental. Deep and dark.

  
"I'll get Tildara, the healer for you. She can give you something. And you need to eat to keep up your strengh. You've lost a lot of blood."

  
"May I see her? Erica. I need to see her."

  
"I can't answer that question. I'll be back soon" Legolas sighed and got up from the chair.

  
"Wait, is Thranduil here? May I speak to him at least?"

  
"My father left for the Golden Woods in the morning. He will be back in a few days."

  
Cara waited for what seemed like an hour, staring up at the roof. She really wished that Thranduil would be here. She had so much to say to him. But she supposed it had to wait a bit longer. She wondered what he was up to. Surely it had something to do with the keys she guessed. Just thinking of the keys sent a shiver down her spine. Luckily the door finally opened again and a female elf with a baby on her hip and a friendly smile on her lips entered. After her followed Legolas with a tray with bowls and goblets.

  
"Good afternoon Cara. I am Tildara. How are you feeling?"

  
Cara coldn't help but to instantly like the woman. Her smile was sunny and genuine. She moved elegantly, just like all the other elves Cara had met so far. Her voice was also soft and beautiful. Cara's Eyes then fell on the baby. He or she had enormous gray eyes and soft blond curls like a little cherub. Looking at the child Cara almost forgot to answer the question until she mentally slapped herself and snapped out of it.

  
"Not too bad considering the circumstances, I guess." Cara sighed. "Cute baby by the way."

  
"Baby?" Tildara sounded confused.

  
"Sorry, that's what we call little children where I come from. He or she is a beautiful child."

  
"Oh, I see. I guess we have some different words for things." Tildara smiled."This is my son Tharion. When you get a bit better you can watch him if you want. It is good for him to get used to other adults. Most of the time he is only around me and my husband.

  
"I'd love to." Cara smiled weakly.

  
Legolas was still standing behind Tildara with the tray in his hands looking slightly awkward. Tildara looked up at him and pointed at the bedside table.

  
"Legolas please put the tray down and help me get Cara up in a sitting position. There is an extra pillow in the closet behind you. We'll need it."

  
Legolas helped Cara to sit up slightly in the bed with pillows behind her back. Legolas then again disappeared from the room while Tildara gave Cara some kind of potion and then water and a bit of soup. At first Cara didn't feel like eating but after a few spoons her apetite returned with force and she emptied the whole bowl. After the meal Tildara checked the wound and nodded in approval.

  
"Thank you, it was delicious. May I see Erica?" Cara wiped her mouth on a napkin before drinking the whole goblet of water.

  
Tildara looked straight at Cara, her eyes filled with sadness.

  
"Tomorrow you may, but now you need to rest. There is no use denying the truth. Your friend is dying. There is nothing I can do. The wound in her leg it self is not the problem, but the weapon that inflicted it was covered with poison. A poison that I do not have any antidote for since it is not of this world. Erica is very sick. I am sorry Cara."

  
Cara stared into nothingness and her tears started running down her cheeks again. Tildara leaned in to confort Cara. Her embrace was warm and Cara could feel that the woman was genuinely sorry, but yet she felt like everything was lost. Erica would die. It was her own fault. She had nowhere to go. No home, no future, nothing but Thranduil, and that relationship she had fucked up as well. She cried like a baby for what felt like hours in Tildaras arms until she could no longer cry anymore.

  
At last she was exhausted enough to fall into a restless sleep as the sun went down behind the horizon and the room went dark. The last thing Cara could see was Tildara lighting a candle in the lantern by the bed.


	26. Waiting

Legolas was standing at the edge of a cliff north of Elaron and Tildaras cottage watching the sun rise from the sea in the east. It was the second day after Thranduil had left with Elaron for The Golden Woods with the keys. While he felt much better not having the keys near him, he also was greatly worried for his father's safety. Thranduil was indeed a most capable warrior, but who knew what would happen if he encountered a large horde of orcs? Elaron was a skilled hunter and could handle a bow more than well, as far as Legolas could see, but he was no warrior. He sighed.

  
Legolas had insisted that he should go with his father to The Golden Woods, but Thranduil had been very clear that he was to stay behind and protect Tildara, the elfling and the two wounded women. Perhaps he was right. Even now Legolas was wearing his knives strapped to his back. One could never be too careful.

  
His boots were covered with morning dew and in the air the seagulls were greeting the sun with their screeches. He was the first one up and when he'd left the house Tildara and the elfling were still asleep. He had looked for tracks or other proof of orc activity around the cottage for a while, but he'd found nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was peacefull and quiet. Now on the other hand he could see that Tildara was up, currently hanging laundry in the garden with her son in a harness on her back. She was singing to herself as she worked.

  
She was a remarkable elleth, that much was clear. Incredibly old and wise, but still warm, down to earth and humble. He found it quite odd that Thranduil had befriended the couple, they would have been much too humble for his fathers liking if it had been back in Middle Earth, but then again his father had changed a great deal after sailing. And besides, they were Thranduils closest neighbours, and Thranduil probably didn't have that many people to socialize with in Valinor anyway. He was a complicated character to say the least. Legolas felt a hint of shame thinking about how he himself had completely ignored his own father for so long, not even giving him a chance to show he had changed.

  
"Legolas!" Tildara shouted, waving her hand. She was apparently done with her laundry. He walked swiftly towards the cottage.

  
"You were up early. And left without eating breakfast." Tildara said matter of factly.

  
"Yes, I went scouting. But I could find no signs of orcs. It seems like we are safe for now. How are the patients doing?"

  
"Cara is doing well physically at least. Her peredhel physic makes her heal fast, but her mind is what worries me. The human girl is worse. She is running a high fever. The poison is slowly killing her. I wish I could do more." Tildara's eyes were filled with tears. "I do not know how Cara will react when she passes, she is damaged enough as it is, and I fear it might break her."

  
Legolas nodded. The girl had been almost hysterical yesterday, and that kind of behavior made Legolas ill at ease and unsure of how to react. Again he remembered his father's many temper tantrums that he had experienced for as long as he could remember. Back then he had fast learned to hide from his father. To ignore what was happening. Galion was usually the one who managed to calm his father down with his reason and natural authority. Legolas would much rather confront an army of orcs than one hysterical elf. He let out a loud sigh. Luckily Tildara seemed to have a natural talent for calming people down.

  
"Let's go inside and have breakfast. You must be hungry by now. I think I should at least try to get Cara to join us. It would be good for her to get up at least for a while already. It will help in her healing process and it might give her something else to think about."

  
Legolas nodded again and followed Tildara into the house. He sat down on the bench by the kitchen table and without asking Tildara placed the elfling in Legolas lap and started cutting bread and fruit. Tharion seemed more than happy to grab Legolas hair and he was speaking a stream of more or less nonsense words. Legolas didn't mind, the elfling kept his thoughts away from both his father and orcs. On the other hand it made him miss his own son terribly. He was sure that Lord Elrond and the others were taking good care of the boy in new Imladris , but still it felt like he was a bit of a failure as a father.

  
When Tildara was ready with the breakfast food and she served Legolas a mug of tea she went to get Cara. The woman walked slowly, aided by Tildara, but at least she looked much better than yesterday. Colour had returned to her cheeks, but her green eyes were still haunted. Again, there was something very familiar with the way she looked. Was it her mother or her father that was the elf? Thranduil had told him very little, besides that there were no other elves in her world. Did that mean that the elf that was her father or mother had crossed over to her world from here? Was it someone he knew? Perhaps that was why she looked familiar? One thing was clear though, he did not know her well enough to ask that kind of questions.

  
Tildara placed Cara in a comfortable chair at the end of the table with a pillow behind her back. Cara said a quiet good morning to Legolas, who answered the same way before she turned to her tea. Cara's blond curls were unruly from the time she had spent in bed, and the white nightshirt was hanging loosely on her thin body. She seemed hungry though, and ate both fruit and two thick slices of bread with butter and cheese on. That was a good sign at least. Tildara was doing the small talk and gradually Cara seemed to open up and engage in the conversation while Legolas stayed mostly quiet besides some remarks here and there. When the subject changed to orcs Cara's eyes widened with horror. Legolas could hardly blame her after what had happened on The Island.

  
"Thranduil told me a bit about the orcs, but they were way more horrible than I could have ever imagined. I hate them!" Cara whispered.

  
"No need to worry. We are safe here for now. There are no signs of any orc activity in this area." Legolas tried to assure her and blamed himself for being stupid enough to even mention orcs in the first place.

  
"Don't worry dear. As Legolas said we are safe here at the moment, and Legolas is a great warrior just as Thranduil, one of the best in fact. We are in good hands." Tildara smiled at Cara, who seemed far from sure they were speaking the truth.

  
They sipped their tea for a little while longer and Tildara tried actively to navigate the conversation away from anything that had to do with orcs. They talked a bit about her world and her life and Legolas wondered how long Thranduil had known this woman. What did he see in her? There was something very immature and entitled about her. Maybe it was because she still was in shock after what happened on the Island or perhaps she was really young as well, but still there was something about her that rubbed Legolas the wrong way. Just the fact that she claimed that she was basically paid to look good was utterly bizarre to him. But maybe it was a normal thing to do in her world? One thing was clear to him and it was that her world "Earth" was very different to anything he had ever known. When Tildara had asked her about how well she knew Thranduil she had simply stated she'd known him foor a few weeks at the same time as she blushed bright red.

  
"So, you have done other things with him than just having conversations?" Legolas wanted to ask a bit sarcastically, but kept it to himself. He had to remind himself he was better than this. What right did he have to comment on what his father and this foreign woman did anyway? After all, they were both adults, and even if he himself didn't agree with the lifestyle of his father he had no right to judge. He was not perfect either, far from it.

  
Finally, Cara asked for permission to leave the table, she did look a bit pale and tired, and after a promise that she would be able to see her friend Erica after her nap she seemed generally happy. Maybe he had been too harsh judging her? After all she had lost almost everything she held dear, just as his own father had once. And she probably prepared herself for losing even more. He looked down at his own hands and wondered what his father was doing and what the future had to bring. Maybe in the end they would all lose just as much as Cara had?


	27. The Way There

They had been riding most of the day. The sunny countryside roads and paths of Tol Eressea passed by quickly and Thranduil was delighted to feel the wind in his hair. Behind him, though the briefcase was strapped to his saddle. There was no way he would leave the keys at his house or anywhere else for that matter where they weren't guarded by a pack of highly skilled warriors. That much was clear after what he had experienced lately.

  
The presence of the keys was a distraction to him. Having them near him made him dread he would have another episode like the one on The Island or that something similar to what Legolas had experienced at the inn on the mainland would occur. If that was the case it would leave them open to attack, and clearly the presence of the keys had the power to draw the orcs to them. It was like the damn artefacts had a mind of their own. It was not surprising though, at least according to the information Legolas had received from the oracle.

  
"What are you thinking about my friend?" Elaron, who rode side by side with Thranduil on a black stallion, shouted.

  
"The keys. Every minute with them, we are in danger. I hope you realize this when you chose to accompany me."

  
"I do. That is why I am here. You cannot do everything on your own Thranduil."

  
"Indeed, but you have a wife and a young son that needs you."

  
"And you are expendable?"

  
Thranduil sighed, but didn't answer the question. Elaron was right. A few short months ago, he would have agreed with the statement that he was indeed very much expendable, but now.. He could see Legolas' face in front of him. The son who had returned to him, and hopefully forgiven him. And then he saw Cara, the woman he had taken to a new world that was completely foreign to her. And, he remembered their moment on the beach that faithful night after their dinner at the restaurant. What did he really feel about her? He could not say, but he wanted, needed time with her to find out.

  
When the afternoon turned into early evening Thranduil and Elaron sat down and had a quick meal in a sunny glade. The ground was covered with soft green moss and small white flowers. They were far from the coast now since they almost had to cross the island to get to The Golden Woods and here it was even more quiet than by the sea. They hadn't seen an elf in many hours since this was one of the least populated areas of the island. Thranduil sighed and took a large bite of an apple.

  
"There is an inn not far from here. I've visited it a few times on my way to a village where I sometimes sell skins and feathers now and then. It will be a slight detour, but we will be safer sleeping indoors." Elaron stated.

  
"And putting innocent people in harms way at the same time?" Thranduil pondered the alternatives for a while. Having all the keys in one place was ridiculously dangerous and darkness was a friend of the orcs. Perhaps Elaron was right? The inn would give them a certain degree of protection, and they needed it desperately.

 

As Elaron predicted they reached the inn late in the evening. It was quite a modest establishment next to a very small lake with crystal clear water. The main building was a white two-story house and a sign over the door told Thranduil that the place was called "The Red Apple". Thranduil and Elaron slid off the horse backs, and were met by a small skinny elf with his long blond hair in a braid on his back.

  
The main room smelled of freshly baked bread and ale. A few elves sat in groups talking and laughing. Elaron sat down and Thranduil followed suit. An elleth dressed in a simple gray dress and a white apron greeted them with a smile until she realized who was sitting in front of her. Then her expression turned to something between embarrassment and amzement. She quickly fell to her knees in front of Thranduil.

  
"My King. I can't believe it is you."

  
When she looked up at him with her large blue eyes, he suddenly remembered her. He had seen those eyes looking up at him with hunger and devotion so many times before. Always willing and eager to serve her king. She had been young and innocent that night when he had seduced her in the wine cellar after the feast of starlight. At that time she was engaged to a young archer, but as a king Thranduil always got what he wanted. She had become his mistress after that night, or the king's whore as the rest of the kingdom called his mistresses. She had been the last one before he sailed. He sighed and shook his head.

  
"Please rise. I am not your king anymore. I am only Thranduil."

  
The elleth did as he asked her, but her devoted gaze still lingered on Thranduil while Elaron looked more than confused about the scene that had transpired before him. Thranduil ordered food and wine for them both. The whole situation was slightly bizarre.

  
"Thank you for your order. My ki..Thranduil." The elleth whispered and Thranduil could still not remember her name. He only remembered her naked body and what she sounded like when he fucked her hard into the mattress.

  
When they ate the elleth luckily had to help out the other customers and she didn't try to talk to him again, although he could feel her gaze lingering on him. He wondered what she would be like without him. Would she have ended up happily married to that archer? Her remembered sending the boy away to Lothlorien to train with the royal guard there just to get rid of him. What right did he have to destroy not only one life, but two, just to satisfy his own needs? And, they were not the only people he had led to ruin. Far from it. Thranduil suddenly felt nauseous.

  
"You don't look well, my friend." Elaron looked at him with an expression that told him that the elf knew much more than he let on.

  
"I think I will go to bed now." Was the only thing Thranduil managed to say. He got up from the chair and grabbed the briefcase.

  
"No one can change the past." The older elf said half to himself, haft to Thranduil, who nodded. He agreed, but sometimes the shadow of his past was too long and too dark for him to ignore. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to drink himself into oblivion, but with the keys to protect he could have none of that.

  
Later, when was stretched out on his bed starring up at the ceiling, he suddenly remembered the name of the elleth. Her name was Melian. And while he couldn't turn back time there was still one thing he could do to ease his pain.

Thranduil and Elaron left early next morning. Only the stable boy was up to greet them. When Thranduil was given the reigns to his horse he put a note in the stable boy's hand.

  
"Give it to the serving girl, Melian." He simply said and the elf nodded seeming a bit confused.

  
They had half a day's ride to the Golden Woods and the morning was like every other morning on Tol Eressea, sunny and full of happy birds greeting the sun. The terrain started to become more hilly and the fields slowly turned into green forests. At noon they stopped near a stream to have lunch. When they were almost ready to continue Thranduil suddenly picked up the sound of horses.

  
"Someone is coming! Get up!"

  
Thranduil grabbed the briefcase and drew his sword while Elaron readied his bow. The horses steadily came closer.

  
"To the death. If they want the keys it will be over my dead body." Thranduils heart started beating faster as he scanned the surroundings.

  
"May our stay in the halls of Mandos be a short one." Elaron smiled.

  
"For you my friend, yes. For me, I suspect it will last to the end of days."

  
Now the horses were almost there. Somehow it didn't sound like orcs at least. Thranduil relaxed slightly.

  
"Drop your weapons please, you are among friends" He heard a familiar voice say. Thranduil took a deep breath and lowered his sword to the ground, as his cousin Celeborn stopped in front of them and slid off his white horse. Behind him rode what looked like an old bearded human man dressed in all white. Thranduil recognized him at once, Mithrandir or Gandalf as Legolas preferred to call the maiar.

  
"Well met cousin." Thranduil embraced Celeborn and tried to ignore the feeling of shame that rose in his gut. Last time they had met it had been under less than ideal circumstances, and he had dismissed his cousins attempt to help him in quite a rude way. The other elf would understand though, he thought.

  
"You look like you are well Thranduil." Celeborn simply stated, and then turned to Gandalf.

  
"Mithrandir, you remember Thranduil, don't you.

  
"How could I ever forget.." The wizard looked slightly amused which irked Thranduil.

  
"This is my neighbour Elaron. Elaron, this is Mithrandir and my cousin Celeborn of The Golden Woods."

  
"My wife told me you were on the way and thought it best to send us out to meet you. What you are carrying with you should be safe now."

  
"I'm thankful for your help." Thranduil felt like he could finally calm down. He knew the keys would be safe for now at least.


	28. Mindgames

It was early evening, and Thranduil was standing on a balcony high above ground in Galadriel and Celeborns' house, or perhaps he should call it a palace, in The Golden Woods. The two of them had never retired from being lord and lady. He twirled the wine goblet in his hand and took a few sips. It was his fifth glass and slowly a warm tingling sensation started to spread throughout his body.

  
Most of the elves from Lothlorien sailed to Valinor and joined their lady and lord in this new settlement, and so had some of his own people. He had heard enough of "My King" to last him to the end of days since he came here in the afternoon. The fact remained that many of the elves in his old realm had stayed in Middle Earth, along with his advisor and friend Galion. He let his finger drag along the railing.

  
The huge trees were filled with buildings and platforms and in each tree glimmered hundreds of lanterns lighting up the night. He refilled his goblet again, unbuttoned a few buttons on his tunic and let the warm evening breeze caress his chest. This realm was indeed beautiful, just as its predecessor in Middle Earth. But as everything else in Valinor, it seemed somewhat dull, lacking soul.

  
Coming here Thranduil was given his own apartment and Celeborn provided him with some very exclusive garments made from the finest silk in Valinor. Thranduil smirked. Perhaps his cousin thought he was no longer elegant enough? Newertheless, he preferred, and missed the elegant robes he used to wear.

  
He emptied one more goblet and then opened another bottle of wine. The smell of tobacco slowly reached his nose. When he turned left he could see Mithrandir sitting on another balcony sucking on his pipe, blowing smoke rings into the night. He frowned. No one had seen or heard from the wizard since his return to Valinor. Where had he been all this time, and why had he returned now?

  
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Thranduil groaned. He wasn't in the mood for socializing at the moment. The many years spent in solitude had made him slightly sensitive about being around other people for too long, and the last few days he had hardly been on his own. Still, he quickly tossed on his robes and opened. Behind the door he found Celeborn with a bottle of wine, and a young elleth behind him. Thranduil raised an eyebrow.

  
"Good evening cousin. How are you settling in?" Celeborn sounded cheerful and put the bottle down on the table.

  
"Very well, thank you." Thranduil answered.

  
Thranduil eyed the elleth behind him. She was truly a beauty. Tall with long golden hair that reached all the way down to her shapely hips. She had large light gray eyes and lovely plump lips. Her dress was a light blue and very low cut and his eyes got caught on her round, firm breasts. Suddenly his mind was filled with graphic sexual images. He could see himself fucking her hard, whispering obscene words in her ear and her hot little mouth around his cock. His heart started beating faster. He finally managed to snap out of it and turned to Celeborn who was luckily standing with his back against Thranduil opening the wine bottle.

  
"What brings you here tonight?" His voice was deeper than usual.

  
Celeborn turned around and put his arms around the elleth's shoulders.

  
"I wanted to talk to you, my friend, and present our youngest daughter to you. This is Laurelin, she is very eager to meet you, but she won't be staying for long. She is on her way to her history lesson."

  
Thranduil swallowed and hoped that Celeborn hadn't caught him staring at his daughter. He didn't even know Celeborn and Galadriel had another daughter. He wondered how young she was. Laurelin curtsied in front of Thranduil. When she looked up at him, and smiled, he could see a glimpse of naughtiness in her eyes that sent a wave of heat down his spine. He hoped she would leave them soon.

  
"Well met Laurelin." He said and gave her a sign to rise.

  
"And you lord Thranduil." Laurelin answered.

  
"You will have more time to talk to Thranduil at breakfast tomorrow, sweetheart. Your tutors are waiting for you." Celeborn said and opened the door to the corridor.

  
Before Laurelin left her gaze lingered on Thranduil for a few seconds too long at the same time as she bit her lower lip suggestively.

  
"The Valar be damned!" Thranduil cursed silently. This was the last thing he needed. Ever since the night on the beach with Cara he had been sexually frustrated, but the ordeal with the keys had kept him somewhat sane and occupied. Now apparently he was losing control because of an elleth he had met for only a few minutes and who was his cousin's daughter. This was wrong on so many levels...

  
"Thranduil!" Celeborn brought him back to reality.

  
Celeborn held a goblet of wine in his hand in front of Thranduil. His eyes full of questions. Thranduil took the goblet and sat down in a chair. He took a sip, hoping it would calm him down. He sighed and Celeborn sat down next to him.

  
"What is bothering you my friend?"

  
"There are a lot of things bothering me. The keys and the orc attacks, to name a few." It was not a total lie, but he couldn't possibly tell Celeborn what really was on his mind at the moment. The other elf lord nodded and seemed to be satisfied with his answer. They drank in silence for a while.

  
"It is good to see you well again. I was afraid you would be gone after I visited you last time."

  
Thranduil nodded and started telling Celeborn about everything that happened since they last saw each other. He told him about the Island, the keys, the orc attacks and Cara. The other elf didn't comment much, most of the time he just nodded.

  
"My wife and I have been in contact with Elrond. Since our grandson was the first one who found a key. However, all this new information makes the whole situation even more complicated and highly dangerous. The keys are safe here, for now at least. We have plenty of skilled warriors in this realm and the borders are well guarded. No one gets in."

  
"I trust you on that."

  
"And this woman, Cara. Where does she fit in? You said she is most probably the daughter of Lord Glorfindel?"

  
"Yes everything points to that. Whether she has a role to play in all this or not I do not know. After the orc attack I couldn't leave her on The Island. She might have died, and she does not belong there. She is the only one of her kind in a world of mortals. What future would she have there?"

  
Celeborn nodded and took a sip of his wine.

  
"And she is important to you, isn't she?"

  
"I suppose she is."

  
Again, they drank in silence until Celeborn said:

  
"Speaking about the future. I am not so sure about our own future here either."

  
Thranduil raised an eyebrow.

  
"Don't tell me you haven't seen it and felt it. Valinor is not what it once was. My wife has seen it too. It is not what it once was. And she should know. She has been here before. The magic is fading. The Valar no longer walk among us as they used to. I feel stretched out somehow."

  
"I've felt that way since I came here. Maybe that is why I started fading." Thranduil confessed.

  
"Perhaps. Do you know for how long you isolated yourself?"

  
Thranduil shook his head. He honestly had no idea.

  
"I've counted the years. 1043 to be exact. And during that time things have not changed for the better. What do you think is happening? Are the Valar losing their strength somehow?"

  
"Maybe Mithrandir will have the answers. When did he show up here?"

  
"Just a few days ago. He hasn't said much, but I suspect he will tell us what he knows during our meeting tomorrow."

  
Thranduil nodded.

  
"I didn't know you had another daughter."

  
"I told you, but I don't think you listened."

  
"I am sorry."

  
"Nothing to be sorry about .You were not in a healthy state of mind. She is 70 years old now. Laurelin is a lovely and bright elleth, but we have struggled with her. Let's just say there are some disciplinary problems, and she has some of ther mother's talents. She can be quite manipulative at times." Celeborn sighed.

  
"She can get inside peoples minds?"

  
"Yes, and she doesn't always use it for good. Her mother is better at handling her than I am."

  
This explained a few things. Laurelin must have reached into his mind earlier. Surely there were more suitable males, closer to her in age, for her to pursue in this realm than her father's cousin and friend. She was not of age yet and did she think he was depraved enough to betray her parents like that? Perhaps he would have done so in his darkest days? The thought sent shivers down his spine.

  
He had to be careful around Laurelin from now on. Long ago he'd learned to block her mother from entering his mind. Even though Galadriel used her powers for good he never liked having her snooping around in his head. Perhaps because he had many dark secrets.

* * *

On the way to breakfast next morning Thranduil met Elaron in the corridor. He hadn't seen him since they arrived the day before and were assigned to their own rooms. The elf seemed in a very good mood.

"Good morning! Elaron greeted Thranduil with a smile.

  
Thranduil was dressed in all black silk and it suited his mood perfectly. He tried to return Elarons smile but gave up halfway.

  
"Good morning.."

  
"You did not sleep well?"

  
"No." Thranduil answered matter of factly.

  
He had been tossing and turning all night, his dreams filled with a mix of aggressively fighting orcs and the same kind of explicit images that had popped up in his mind while meeting Laurelin the day before. This time, however, it was Cara that plagued his dreams. He woke up hot and bothered tangled in his sheets. He wondered if it was Laurelin who was messing with his dreams, but in this case he highly doubted it. She would surely have put herself in them if that was the case. He had also used the proper methods to shield his mind before he fell asleep, and he also doubted she had enough control over her gift to influence someone without eye contact. A sleepless night though was not really a challenge for him, the was quite used to them. It was more about the strong feelings and urges that were bubbling under the surface that worried him.

  
"Perhaps a good breakfast will ease your mind then. My wife always tells me that."

  
"Perhaps."

  
Elaron frowned and seemed to give up his attempt at a cheerful conversation. They continued walking in silence. Thranduil's mind drifted back to Cara. When he thought about her lying there in the bed pale like death and smeared with blood he suddenly felt cold. He had left her to wake up with people she didn't know and a friend who would be dying or dead. There was no going back to her old life.

  
The thought sent him back through time and space, back to Dagorlad surrounded by his two dead sons and his dead father. The day he lost almost everything. For the first three days after he had been a violent screaming madman. Finally Galion had chained him to the narrow bed in his tent and forced him to drink a foul smelling potion that made him sleep. After waking up he was calm, but he had also lost a piece of himself. A void that he tried to fill every day.


	29. Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Death

"And then Gimli said: That still only counts as one..."

  
Legolas laughed, and Cara laughed along with him. It was probably the first time he had heard her laugh since she arrived. Her laughter was quite pleasant, Legolas noted, but her green eyes were full of sorrow and loneliness. In her Legolas could see the same emptiness as he saw in his father's eyes. Perhaps that was partly why Thranduil was drawn to this woman?

  
Legolas and Cara were sitting outside the cottage with little Tharion playing next to them on a blanket. From the day she got up and had breakfast with Tildara and Legolas her recovery had been swift and now Cara spent most of her time either outdoors or by her friend Erica's side. The girl was getting weaker and weaker every passing hour, and Legolas knew that the end was near now.

  
"It's a fascinating story. I suppose you miss your friends from back then?"

  
"Yes, I miss them terribly. Gimli and Aragorn were with me a bit longer than the rest, but in the end they too grew old and died."

  
"I'm sorry to hear that." Cara said and Legolas nodded.

Perhaps he had told her the story of his mortal friends because she needed comfort. He could very well imagine what she was feeling at the moment.

  
Cara was dressed in a simple blue dress that Tildara had let her borrow. At first Cara had rubbed Legolas the wrong way, but as time passed, she had grown on him. She could be quite blunt at times, but he guessed it might be the way people interacted with each other in her world. It indeed seemed like a very odd place. She was not exactly the type of elleth his father usually went for. Thranduil had often preferred quite meek and innocent women that he could bend and shape as he pleased to suit his dominant nature. Cara seemed to be neither. Legolas wondered if she had any idea what she was in for, but then again Thranduil had changed a lot recently. Legolas sighed.

  
"How was it growing up with Thranduil as a father?"

  
The question took Legolas by surprise. He remained silent for a while contemplating what he should say. He didn't want to speak ill of his father, but he didn't want to lie either.

  
"If I may ask?"Cara looked at him intently.

  
"Well, to be honest, it was not always easy. Most of the time he seemed to forget I even existed. His advisor Galion was sometimes more of a father figure to me than my father. We are very different Thranduil and I and it made things even more complicated." He sighed.

  
"Yeah, Thranduil told me that the two of you weren't on talking terms. But obviously you are now?"

  
Legolas nodded. What more had Thranduil told her? It irked him slightly that his father had opened up this much to Cara. The Thranduil he had grown up with had hidden his true self behind a cold and indifferent facade, but that was no more.

  
"Yes. He is my father after all. One can't hold a grudge forever, and he has changed a lot lately as a person."

  
Cara nodded.

  
"Hell, it's not easy growing up. The man I called father was not very nice to me. In fact, I think he knew I was not his biological child. He uses to beat me regularly and tell me how stupid and useless I was. Not that he was overly nice to my sister Evelyn either. He is a very cruel man. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you all of this."

  
Legolas could see that Cara's eyes were glazed with tears that she tried her best to keep away, but underneath the calm surface, her emotions were running wild. He could see her hands shaking slightly.

  
"I'm sorry." Legolas had nothing more to say.

  
"Fuck, I really wish I had a drink now. But, I don't think Tildara has anything stronger than tea though." Cara smiled. Her profanities no longer shocked Legolas, he sometimes even found them a bit amusing, but at the moment this was not the case.

  
"Well, at least, one good thing with being stuck here is that I never have to see my stepfather again. I'm really worried about my mother though. She is very sick, but I am pretty sure Evelyn will take care of her. Evelyn might have her faults, but at least she knows how to take care of thing better than I do."

  
"And your real father?" Perhaps it was the right time to ask now. He'd avoided the topic until now, but since they had talked about many personal things already he might as well take the plunge.

  
"I've never met him. I don't even think he knows I exist to be honest. I only have a name from my mother's diary. Glorfindel. Have you heard of someone like that?"

  
Legolas was dumbfounded for a minute and simply stared at Cara. How stupid had he really been? Now he could clearly see why he had seen something so familiar in Cara. He just hadn't connected the dots.

  
"The Balrog Slayer is your father?"

  
"What is a balrog?"

  
"It is an ancient demon beast. And yes, I know your father."

  
"Really? Is he nice? Does he live somewhere nearby?" Cara seemed excited and a big smile lit up her face.

  
"Yes, he is. In fact, he is one of the best of us. Sadly, he went missing many years ago."

  
"Oh." Cara's enthusiasm was gone.

  
Tildara suddenly stepped out on the porch. She looked shocked and her apron was covered with a black substance. Legolas' heart grew Cold. He picked up the elfling Before Tildara even had the chance to ask for it.

  
"Cara, I'm sorry, but I think the end is near now."

  
Cara got up as fast as she could and with tears in her eyes she hurried after Tildara into the house. Legolas followed closely behind with Tharion. In the room where Erica was being treated was similar to the room Cara was staying in, but this room was filled with a nasty smell of blood and sickness. The human girl was lying still on her back. Her skin had taken on an ashy grayish color and her eyes were wide open and white. In the corner of her mouth Legolas could see the residue of the same substance that Tildara's apron was stained with. Cara was sitting next to the bed, holding Erica's hand. He swallowed.

  
"The poison has taken her eyesight." Tildara whispered to Legolas. "Can you please put Tharion in his crib. This is no place for a child." Legolas nodded and returned to the kitchen where he placed the elfling in his crib. When he returned Cara was stroking her friend's hair.

  
"Erica, can you hear me?" She pleaded while tears were running down her cheeks.

  
"Mom, is that you?" Erica's voice was faint and coarse.

  
"No, I'ts me, Cara."

  
"I can't see!" Erica coughed and tried to raise her of the black substance started running down her chin "I can't see!"

  
"Listen Erica I'm here. It's Cara." Cara's voice was shaking.

  
Erica coughed two more times and then her body started shaking violently Before it went totally limp. The room turned silent. Tildara walked over to the bed and started checking Erica's pulse.

  
"Is she...?" Cara looked horrified.

  
"Yes. I'm sorry Cara, she is dead." Tildara put her arm around Cara's shoulders.

  
"It is all my fault..She died because of me.." Cara was crying uncontrollably and Legolas was just standing there watching the scene unfold.

  
"No, no. Please Cara..."

  
"Yes, it is." Cara got up, and rushed out in the kitchen and then out the door to the garden, tears streaming down her face.

  
Tildara shook her head.

  
"We will need a grave Legolas."

  
Legolas nodded silently and walked out in the garden. He scanned the surroundings to find Cara, and he found her sitting on the edge of the cliff looking out over the sea hugging her legs. He slowly walked up to her and sat down next to her. They were silent for a few minutes, Cara still sobbing.

  
"Her family probably won't ever know what happened to her." Cara finally said. "They deserve better than this. They are good people. How can I ever live with myself when I know it is my fault she is dead now? I should never have invited any people to the Island."

  
"It is not your fault. It was the orcs that did this. The orcs, and those who sent them. There was no way for you to know they would come to The Island looking for the keys."

  
Cara sniffled and dried away her tears on her sleeve. She was quiet for a while.

  
"Who do you think sent the orcs?" She finally asked.

  
Legolas sighed and looked down at his hands, remembering the orc he had questioned on the beach.

  
"I'm not sure yet. But it is someone powerful enough to open portals to other worlds. Someone very dangerous."

  
"Can you promise me something Legolas?"

  
Cara looked straight into his eyes and Legolas raised an eyebrow.

  
"I want you to train me. I want to know how to defend myself and kill those bastards."

  
Legolas nodded. He could understand her perfectly, and he agreed, she needed to know how to defend herself.

  
"I will train you. We will begin in a few days, when you are well enough."


	30. Control

When Thranduil walked into the dining room, it was clear to him that something was very wrong. Celeborn and Galadriel were nowhere to be found and on the tables the breakfast plates were untouched. Mithrandir was talking to an unknown ellon near the window, and judging from the way the wizard was waving his hands he was very upset.

  
"Lord Thranduil!" Mithrandir walked towards him with hurried steps.

  
"What is going on?"

  
"The news just reached us. New Imladris has been attacked by orcs, a sizable horde of orcs. The whole settlement has been burned to the ground..."

  
Thranduil couldn't believe his ears. New Imladris was burnt to the ground. His thoughts immediatley went to his grandson, the elfling he had never met. He swallowed.

  
"And Lord Elrond?" Thranduil tried his best to sound like he was not as affected by the news as he was.

  
"Lord Elrond and his son are alive, and on the way here. They managed to eliminate the orc force, but many elves were killed, including Lord Elrond's wife Lady Celebrian. She was shot by an orc arrow."

  
Thranduil couldn't help feeling sorry for Elrond. That poor elf had lost almost as much as he had himself. He shook his head. And, how would his cousin and his wife handle the loss of their oldest daughter?

  
"And Legolas' son? He was in New Imladris."

  
"He is alive, and on his way to Tol Eressea. When the attack occurred Erestor and a few of the elflings were out in the woods on an excursion for Herbology class. Your grandson was lucky enough to be able to hide up in a tree until the attack was over."

  
Thranduil nodded. At least that was good news. He needed to get a message to Legolas as soon as possible before his son heard the news about the destruction of New Imladris and started to worry. Behind Thranduil Elaron was silently shaking his head.

  
"I never thought we would see such dark times again." He said half to himself.

  
"Neither did I." Mithrandir said and sighed. "It is indeed most unfortunate. Due to the dire circumstances we need to meet in council as soon as possible."

  
"Do you think Celeborn and Galadriel are ready for a meeting? They have just got word that their older daughter is dead." Thranduil sounded sceptical.

  
"We will have to meet, no matter the circumstances. I have crucial information for you, the chosen once."

  
Thranduil nodded.

  
"I trust you are right Mithrandir." Thranduil then turned to Elaron and said:

  
"My friend, I need you to get back to your cottage to inform Legolas that his son is alive and well, and on his way to Tol Eressea."

  
"I will do that. I'll leave at once. I'll ride as fast as I can." Elaron took Thranduil's hands and in his and lowered his head in respect.

  
"Thank you." Thranduil nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Give Cara and Tildara my regards."

  
"I will." Elaron disappeared out of the dining hall.

* * *

Thranduil followed the wizard to a pair of double doors. Mithrandir knocked and it took a few moments before someone opened the door. Celeborn's eyes were red and swollen and he only nodded and showed the wizard and the elf inside. The room was quiet as a grave and with her back against the door Galadriel was sitting with her hands in her lap looking out the window. The sun was shining on her golden hair, making it glow like a halo. Thranduil sighed.

  
"My condolences." His voice echoed in the quiet room.

  
"Thank you." Galadriel finally answered, turned around and got on her feet.

  
She walked over to a table surrounded by chairs, lifted a pitcher and poured a glass of water, her hands visibly shaking. She gestured at the three males to sit down.

  
"I was hoping we could do this another time, but we are all in grave danger and I have crucial information for you." Mithrandir said and they all nodded in agreement.

  
Mithrandir started with things that were familiar to Thranduil. About how the three keys in their possession were found and the fact that they were part of a collection of six keys that had the potential to unleash a weapon of great destruction.

"You see, after the creation of this world, Eru made two other parallel copies, unbeknownst to the Valar. All worlds started out almost the same, but time and other circumstances quickly changed the worlds and made them vastly different. Earth, where Cara is from is a world of mortals where no magic exists or have ever existed. The third world is a place that I know very little about. Some call it The Void, even if it is far from a void."

  
"The void? Where Morgoth is chained up?" Celeborn sounded confused.

  
"Well, yes. But he is not exactly chained up anymore, that is the problem. He has taken that world for his own and corrupted it."

  
"How very insightful of the Valar to dump the most dangerous being that has ever existed into another world just to get rid of him, and then lie about it. Are there people in this world too?" Thranduil's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

  
"Yes, there are people there. Even the Valar can make mistakes."

  
"Mistakes? That, Mithrandir might be the understatement of the century." Thranduil grinned and poured himself a glass of water.

  
"And, the Keys. Are they of Morgoth's making? Galadriel had been quiet for a while, but now she spoke up, her voice loud and clear.

  
"Yes, they are. Before his fall, Morgoth had plans for conquering the two other worlds after he was done with Arda. He wanted to have complete dominion of all three of Eru's creations. That is why he made the keys and the lock. He wanted an easy way to create portals between worlds,large enough for whole armies to pass through. After the banishment of Morgoth the Valar hid the keys so that he would never find them again. Three on earth and three here on Arda. It is my guess that Morgoth found the first of the keys around two thousand years ago. Since then he has been able to open small portals, to send his minions looking for the rest of the keys, but luckily with the guidance of the Valar, three of the keys were found by us instead. The problem however is that the Valar are being drained of their powers by Morgoth. He is getting more powerful and they are fading. This is why it is important that we get our hands on all the keys as soon as possible and destroy both the keys and the lock."

  
Celeborn and Galdriel nodded and Thranduil sighed.

  
"You, Thranduil, will go to Middle Earth in a few weeks time to find the key still hidden there. The Valar will open a portal from Valinor and someone will come and pick you up."

* * *

They spoke for hours, only taking a quick break for some food and drink. The discussion had taken its toll on both Galadriel and Celeborn, who for obvious reasons were in enough distress already. Thranduil didn't want to bother them more than he had and, they needed to spend some time alone and deal with their grief. After he had told Celeborn that refugees from New Imladris were welcome in his house he had excused himself and left.

He decided to spend the rest of the day by himself. He had a lot to think about. On the way back he grabbed a servant, and ordered food and drinks to his rooms. Luckily, he hadn't seen Laurelin today.. The Young elleth was probably too wrapped up in her own grief following her sister's death to bother him further. He sighed and unlocked the door to his apartment. He left his robes on a chair and opened up the doors to the balcony. Outside there was no indication that something terrible had just happened. The lazy afternoon sun found its way down through the leaves and branches of the enormous trees and a few butterflies fluttered past Thranduil.

  
When he got his food and drinks delivered by a timid maid he sat down and poured a large glass of the strong herbal liquor he'd ordered. He downed the whole glass and made a face that would have made an onlooker laugh. It tasted disgusting, but it was a very potent brew. He chased away the bitter aftertaste with a glass of wine before he moved on to his salad. It was slightly tasteless, and it made him think how much he missed Cara's cooking. Well, if he was being honest, he missed being there on the Island with her in general. Being in a completely new world where no one knew anything about his life and history made him feel reborn, almost. If it wouldn't have been for the business with the keys he could have stayed there with her, just existing. He had felt alive there. Yet here he was again trying to save the world.

  
The prospect of returning to Middle Earth was a thrilling one. The only information Mithrandir had given him so far was that someone would pick him up from his home and take him back to Middle Earth. He was to bring his son and Cara with him. Mithrandir claimed that Cara would be an asset, since Middle Earth had turned into was a world very much like her own. First, though he needed to do anything in his power to get an audience with the High King. The Valar were getting weaker, and weaker and the orc attacks would become more frequent and more severe. The high King needed to take action to protect the realm if the elves were to survive. Thranduil hoped Legolas was wrong about the King.

  
For now, at least, Mithrandir claimed that the Valar had put extra effort into shielding the Golden Woods, and the keys should be safe here for months. Hopefully. Still, there were so many questions that Mithrandir had no answer for. How would they get the key or keys that were in Morgoth's World, guarded buy the Dark Lord himself? How would they destroy the lock and keys and where was the lock? He had a sneaking suspicion it would not be an easy task. Thranduil poured more wine, but left the sallad. He instead ate all of the bread and drank more of the strong liquor. Tomorrow he would ride home and he was very much looking forward to it.

* * *

He must have fallen asleep in the chair at some point, because when he woke up it was night. The lanterns were lit in the city and he could hear the crickets around him. His neck and back felt tense after he had slept in a very odd position for many hours. He resumed his drinking for a while, at the same time trying to stretch his aching muscles as well as he could. His efforts were in vain, a dull ache still lingered in his body.

Luckily, there was a very effective remedy for this kind of problem not far away. Thranduil got up from the chair, grabbed a bottle of wine and a bath towel and left for the royal hot springs. He had been there before a few times, but this time in the night the steamy basin was empty and everything was quiet. He put down his bottle and towel on the edge of the pool and started to undress slowly breathing in the damp night air.

When he lowered himself into the hot water, a small moan escaped his lips. He closed his eyes and let the warm water work wonders on his tense body. With a smile he opened his eyes and grabbed the wine bottle. He hadn't bothered bringing a goblet with him, he just drank straight from the bottle. This was truly doing wonders for him. He closed his eyes again and just relaxed for a while, until he heard a soft giggle.

  
"Damn it!" was the first thing he thought when he saw Laurelin walking towards him in the warm water. She did nothing to conceal her nakedness and his eyes wandered on their own accord down to her breasts. Her nipples hard and pink, ready for his tongue to caress. He tried to snap out of it, but he could feel her trying to rip appart his mental defenses.

  
"What are you doing here?" His voice was dark and hoarse.

  
"What are you doing here? She smiled and licked her lips walking closer. "This is my parents' private hot spring. And mine."

  
Thranduil tried to get away, but the hard edge of the basin stopped him and chafed against his bare back. She was constantly tugging on his mental walls. He could not move. How was she this powerful? Not even her mother had this kind of power over him.

  
She closed in on him and her little hand caressed his chest, every touch burning like fire on his skin. She pressed her body against his and reached up to whisper in his ear:

  
"I want to know if what they say about you is true." She licked along his ear, took the tip between her teeth and bit down playfully.

  
He hissed and could feel himself getting hard. His body acted against his mind. He did not want this! She was in his mind now, playing around as if it was her own personal playground.

  
"There is a secret book about you. Written by one of your mistresses. The other girls blush and giggle, but do you know what I do when I read it?" She whispered and started kissing his neck. Her mind was projecting the answer directly into his brain.

  
"I touch myself." She moaned, her hands traveling further down his abdomen.

  
He needed to get away. Now. it took him all he had to push her out of his mind. The pain in his head was excruciating, but he managed to grab her hands and turn her around so that her back was pinned against the edge of the pool.

  
"Get out of my head, you little slut!" He growled, and for a fleeting moment he could detect something that looked like fear in her large gray eyes, but then the smirk on her lips returned.

  
"Mmm.." She purred seductively. "Be rough with me. Fuck me like you fucked your whores.."

  
At that very moment all hell broke loose. Thranduil could feel someone roughly gripping his shoulders and pushing him under water. Before he was dragged up to the surface again, he could see white robes billowing in the water. His heart sank in his chest. He felt a pair of large hands closing around his throat restricting his breathing. His eyes met his cousin's. He tried to kick himself loose, but behind him there was someone else who grabbed his hands. He had never seen rage like this in Celeborn's eyes.

  
"You abominable bastard!" Celeborn hissed and his grip around Thranduil's throat tightened to a point that made Thranduil see stars. "I have already lost one daughter today!"

  
"My lord, my lord! Please, you are killing him! Let go." Two guards pulled Celeborn away from Thranduil and Thranduil fell backwards against two other guards that were grabbing his harms. He coughed and his breathing was ragged.

  
"Get him out of my sight. Lock him up." Celeborn's voice was filled with rage. "And take my daughter to her room. Lock her up as well." Celeborn crawled out of the pool, his wet, white robes clinging to his body.

  
"This was not my doing!" Thranduil shouted. "Let your wife dissect my mind and you will see I have nothing to hide!"

  
"Really?" The smile on Celeborn's lips was cruel and cold. "Very well then. I'll let her have her way with your brain tomorrow."

* * *

The hours that passed were the definition of misery for Thranduil. He could not get any sleep, and his mind was in a state of chaos. Bruises were starting to form on his neck and throat. He knew very well what submitting to Galadriel would mean for him. He swallowed. It had to be done however, he had to prove his innocence.

In the early morning he was escorted by two guards to the same room as the council meeting had been held yesterday. Today it was even more quiet than it had been a day ago. Celeborn's face was distorted into a masque of contempt. Galadriel's eyes were cold and sceptical and Mithrandir seemed almost aloof as he quietly, slowly walked aound the room.

  
"Let's get this over with." Thranduil could hear his voice almost sounding defiant, but the truth was that he was terrified.

  
He was pushed forward towards the Lady. She eyed him carefully.

  
"I know you are always blocking me, Thranduil. You have to let everything go, or I will hurt you,"

  
He nodded. Tried to relax. Her more powerful mind engulfing him like a yellow light. She was cutting away layer upon layer of memories and feelings. He was instantly moved from age to age, place to place. From Doriath to Dagorlad and from Mirkwood to his house in Valinor. It hurt. Like a thousand knives, cutting his mind into pieces.

  
Galadriel frowned.

  
"Let go." She said, but the block in his mind was still up, almost impenetrable.

  
The pain got worse. Thranduil fell to his knees. No! This memory he would keep to himself until he died. Till the end of time. He had promised.

  
"He is still hiding something from me." Galadriel said, her voice almost soft.

  
Thranduil looked up at her. He could feel something running down from his nose. Blood. He could taste iron on his tongue. Her eyes were stern, but friendly now.

  
"Thranduil. Let go, please." She whispered in his mind. And he did. He flew back to Amon Lanc. So long ago. A Beautiful summer day. Her sad blue Eyes..

  
Thranduil collapsed on the floor. Galadriel sighed, and looked at him with what could only be described as a mix of horror and pity. She smiled softly.

  
"I'm sorry." She said aloud.

  
"And..." Mithrandir asked.

  
"He is telling the truth. Everything that happened yesterday was our daughter's doing."

  
Celeborn looked dumbfounded and Mithrandir chuckled silently in his beard.

  
"Get our daughter." Galdriel commanded the guards.

  
Thranduil shivered, still unable to get up. He had betrayed her. The secret he had protected for thousands of years was no longer a secret. Galadriel knew now. He could feel Mithrandir pulling him from the floor and leading him to a chair. The Lady's gaze followed him.

  
"The secret is safe with me, my friend." She told him in his mind, and he sighed, allowing himself to relax.

  
The guards brought Laurelin into the room. She looked scared and disoriented.

  
"Mother, please!" She sniffled."

  
Galadriel shook her head and the guards held Laurelin in her place as he Lady stared at her daughter. Galadriel frowned.

  
"Mithrandir, I need your help. Someone or something is controlling her..."

* * *

He was violently thrust against the stone wall. For a few seconds he could not breath. Was his spine broken? No, he could still move, but his whole body hurt. The bitch and the Maiar had thrown him out of that young, impressionable elleth's mind with a force that had scared him. They would pay dearly for this..

"My Lord, are you hurt?" His timid servant hurried to his side and reached out a hand. He took it.

  
"I just slipped and fell off the ladder. I tried to reach one of the higher bookshelves." He lied.

  
The servant nodded and he sat down in an armchair.

  
"Please get me a glass of water, will you."

  
The servant nodded and disappeared.

  
Both of his plans had backfired terribly. Elrond and his son were still alive and so was Thranduil. At least he had hoped he could create a crack in the relationship between Celeborn and Thranduil, but the incident would probably have, almost the opposite effect. His master would not be pleased, but luckily he had backup plans. He hoped his newly appointed counterpart in Middle Earth, Lord Khamul was faring better.

* * *

Galadriel embraced her husband and kissed him on his forehead. Celeborn sighed.

"I almost choked him to death. I could have killed my own cousin."

  
"But you didn't." Galadriel assured him.

  
"Who did this to our daughter?" Did you see anything?"

  
"I saw a face. Very light gray eyes, black hair. An elf. Nothing more than that." She sighed and shook her head.

  
"Still, what I saw last night will haunt me forever. Our little, innocent daughter and Thranduil."

  
"Maybe you have to come to terms with the fact that she is no longer that young and innocent anymore. The mindcontrol wouldn't have worked if there wasn't a hint of attraction to him on her part."

  
Celeborn shuddered.

  
"Don't remind me... What did you see in Thranduil's mind anyway? What was he holding back?"

  
"It is not for me to tell. He made a promise once, to someone he loved dearly."

  
Celeborn nodded, and kissed his wife.


	31. The Return

Cara picked up a small blue flower from the ground and sighed. The grave in the small glade behind the house had become the place where she went to think, sometimes she stayed there for hours. They had buried Erica three days ago, and most of the time since, she had felt miserable. Tildara had still not cleared her for training with Legolas. She had tried to be useful and help Tildara with different chores around the house, just to pass the time, but the truth was she sucked at most things. She could not mend fishing nets and skinning the animals that Legolas brought home almost daily from his short hunting trips was simply not an option if she wanted to keep her lunch down.

  
Sometimes she did the dishes, collected eggs from the chickens or looked after Tharion. Mostly she felt like a burden to be honest, even if Tildara was careful to point out she was not. At least she had learned how to milk a goat. Who would have thought it would be one of her talents? Even Evelyn would have been proud of her. Her laundry skills had also improved slightly, and yesterday Tildara even let her help Legolas carry water from the well to the house.

  
Thranduil was still not back, and the longer he was away the more nervous Cara became. She knew that she would have to talk to him about what happened that night on the beach. She'd acted like an idiot, but there was not much she could do about it now. She had been drunk and frustrated after weeks of being violently attracted to him. She hoped he would forgive her. Well, at least he had cared enough about her to save her from the orcs, so it couldn't be all that bad. She sighed.

  
Legolas seemed to think there was something going on between her and his father, the way he spoke seemed to indicate that. She could not ask him though, that would be way too awkward. Speaking about Legolas, the more she got to know him, the more she could understand, why he and Thranduil seemed to have a somewhat strained relationship. They were like night and day, except that they both seemed to have a tendency to be quite moody, but in different ways. While Thranduil seemed to switch between angry and passionate in mere seconds, Legolas seemed to flip between being cheerful and melancholic. He was sometimes very chatty and had a sense of humour, but other times he could be lost in his own thoughts for what seemed like hours. She liked him though, he seemed like someone who would be a great friend, someone to count on in every situation.

  
She didn't know what her place was here, and at the moment she wouldn't mind going home, despite everything that happened on the Island. Legolas had told her that it was not a possibility. Here she was, lost in a foreign world where she could barely function, with a crush on a nine thousand years old elf. Probably the biggest age gap in the history of the universe. It was ironic really, just a few years ago, she had relentlessly teased Erica for dating a guy, Larry was his name, who had been forty-nine at the time.

  
"Karma is a bitch.." She told herself and smiled slightly.

  
"Are you talking to yourself again?" She could see Legolas leaning against a tree.

  
"Seems like that.." She smiled.

  
"I just saw Elaron get off his horse outside the cottage. Seems like he is back, let's see what he has to say."

  
"And Thranduil?"

  
"No, Elaron was alone. My father probably stayed a bit longer in The Golden Woods. Let's hope that is the case at least. Come."

  
Legolas took Cara's hand and pulled her up on her feet.

  
Outside the cottage Elaron embraced his wife, and kissed the elfling on the head Before turning to Legolas and Cara.

  
"Your father sent me ahead. There is something you should know Legolas, and it is not something good I'm afraid."

  
Legolas took a deep breath and nodded.

  
"New Imladris has been attacked by orcs."

  
"What!? My son.."

  
"Your son is alive and well. He is on his way here with Lord Elrond and his entourage. But you do not have a home to go back to. Many died that day. I'm sorry Legolas."

  
Legolas Eyes turned cold, almost violent. He fisted his hands.

  
"They will pay for this!" He said, his voice shaking slightly.

  
"I'm sorry Legolas. These are dark times we are living in." Tildara sighed.

  
That night they ate in silence and Before they Went to bed Tildara checked on Cara's scar. She nodded in approval. It had healed nicely.

  
"I think you might be able to start your training with Legolas tomorrow." Tildara smiled.

  
"If he feels like it. He is not in a good place at the moment." Cara sighed.

  
"Perhaps it would be good for him to have something else to think about."

  
Cara nodded.

  
The next morning Cara was up early. She decided to make herself useful by collecting eggs for breakfast and picking up some fallen oranges from the ground under the trees. She then helped Tildara bake bread and make tea. Legolas seemed to be in a slightly better mood when they ate breakfast, and afterwards she decided to ask him about the training.

  
"Tildara says that I am well enough to start my training today. Would that be ok for you? It might be a good way for you to pass your time at least." Cara asked Legolas as they were sitting outside the cottage.

  
"Very well. Now is as good a time as ever." He sighed. "Have you ever used a bow and Arrows?"

Cara shook her head.

  
"I don't think I have even held any kind of weapon before. But I used to do karate classes when I was younger. It's a form of martial art from earth. I haven't practised it for a very long time, though."

  
Legolas nodded.

  
"I think we can start with the bow anyway. Just to see if it might be something that works for you."

  
Cara was definitely not a natural with the bow. After two hours Legolas shook his head in defeat. Everything that could potentially go wrong had gone wrong. Cara had almost shot herself in her foot once.

  
"I think this is enough for today." Legolas said.

  
"I really suck at this, don't I? You can be honest."

  
"Well, yes." Legolas smirked. "But on the other hand it was only your first try."

  
"I thought so." Cara laughed.

  
"Let's see how well you do in hand to hand combat."

  
This time things seemed to work better for her. Even if she could in no way match Legolas in speed, strength and agility, she managed to somewhat take him off guard two times with moves that were obviously unfamiliar to him. When they took a break Legolas nodded in approval.

  
"I think we might have something here. If you manage to incorporate the use of the fighting knives and improve on your speed and agility, I think you could have the potential to become a decent fighter. When we get back to my father's house I'll show you."

  
"Good to hear I'm not a totally hopeless case." She smiled.

  
"Let's have Another go. Show me that move you did earlier. After that we are done for today."

  
Cara nodded, this time however, something went a bit wrong, and she landed flat on her back with Legolas on top of her. She was out of breath for a moment, then she coughed.

  
"Sorry, that didn't go as planned." She said and laughed.

  
"Did I hurt you?" Legolas looked worried.

  
"No, just get off me, ok. I can't brea..."

  
She didn't have time to say anything more. Someone violently ripped Legolas away from her and her eyes met a pair of light blue eyes filled with rage.

  
"Get your hands off her!"

  
"Father, are you out of your mind?" She heard Legolas shout. Cara could see him on the grass, grabbing his shoulder.

  
"For fuck's sake! We were training. Jesus!" Cara got up on her feet and was met by a fuming Thranduil dressed in all black.

  
"Really? What sort of "training" is this?" Thranduil's voice was dripping with contempt.

  
"She wanted to learn how to defend herself!" Legolas was up on his feet, but still holding his shoulder. He looked furious. "You try to prove to me time and time again that you have changed, but obviously you are still the same as you have always been!" Legolas shouted and walked away as fast as he could towards the house.

  
Thranduil was now staring daggers at Cara instead.

  
"What the hell is wrong with you? What kind of degenerate do you think I am if you believe I would try to get it on with your son, out here on the lawn for everybody to see no less. Get a grip! It's you.. You that I want." She had no idea what flew into her mind when she uttered that last scentense, but it was the truth and there was no way she could take it back now.

  
Thranduil's eyes suddenly softened and Cara saw the bruises on his neck and his bloodshot eyes. He sighed and looked down. He looked utterly defeated.

  
"I'm sorry Cara." He took a few steps towards her and she backed away from him. "Don't be scared of me.." He whispered.

  
"Can you blame me?" Still, she stopped and let him get closer to her.

  
"No, I can't blame you. I don't know what happened to me." He closed in on her and put his arms around her waist.

  
Cara was tense in his arms, but his scent was as intoxicating as ever.

  
"Why do you say you want me, when I'm clearly a terrible person? Everything I do proves that time and time again."

  
Cara looked up into his eyes. Again he looked so sad, and so old.

  
"But, you are good enough for me. What you just did was idiotic, but you have been good to me. Better than most, in fact."

  
He sighed, and then he reached down and kissed her on her lips, almost timidly. She didn't object and he deepened the kiss and she leaned into his body. He had the same effect on her as always, and she could feel the heat running through her veins. She never wanted him to stop, but slowly he broke the kiss and let his thumb run along her lower lip. She smiled.

  
"Thanks for saving me from the orcs, by the way. And, I'm sorry for what I did that night on the beach."

  
He smirked.

  
"Apology accepted, and saving you from the orcs was the least I could do."

  
"What happened to you when you were away, by the way?" She gently touched the bruises on his neck.

"I had a fight with my cousin. It is quite complicated. I'll tell you on the way to my house. In the end it all has to do with those damned keys."

  
"I think you should apologize to Legolas. He didn't deserve that. He is a nice person. He promised to help me learn how to fight. I don't want to be helpless when the orcs attac again. I don't want to end up like that Lord Elrond's wife. Legolas told me she was raped and mutilated by orcs for days, and never recovered. Now she is dead, shot by orcs."

  
Thranduil's eyes turned bottomless and sad again. He slowly nodded.

  
"I understand." He said.


	32. Forward into the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Porn..

Thranduil was standing on his balcony with an elegant crystal glass filled with wine in his hand. The evening was beautiful and sunny, but dark, heavy clouds were looming in the eastern sky. The turquoise water caressed the shore of his own private beach and up on one of the high cliffs surrounding the beach he could see his son sitting, looking out over the sea. Legolas' long blond hair was moving in the wind and Thranduil frowned.

  
He had tried to talk to his son and apologize, but Legolas would have none of it. The younger elf had simply told him that he needed to be left alone. He could understand. Thranduil had almost managed to dislocate his shoulder in his rage, after all. Never before had he been violent towards his son in this way. There was no excuse for his behavior, but something in him had snapped. He blamed everything that had transpired the last few days for his behavior, Still it felt good to be home.

  
He went back into his bedroom and out in the corridor to call for one of his servants. His maid came running, and as always she looked like she was half scared to death by him. He guessed he had himself to blame for that as well, after his latest drunk tantrum after the night on the beach with Cara. But at the moment he didn't care.

  
"I need more wine. Four bottles at least, and dinner. Something good, use your imagination. Two plates. And get Lady Cara, she will be dining with me."

  
"Lady Cara is asleep, My Lord. She was tired after her bath, and when I got back with her clean clothes she was in her bed fast asleep. Shall I wake her?"

  
He shook his head.

  
"Wait." he said and sat down by his desk and wrote a small note in Cara's alphabet. His maid watched him as he went back out on the balcony and picked a large white rose from the bush growing over the railing. He left the note to his maid who looked slightly confused.

  
"Leave this next to Lady Cara. And see that my son has everything he needs in his room. After that you may retire for the evening. I do not want to be disturbed."

  
"Yes, My Lord." The maid nodded and he could see a slight blush creeping up her face.

  
"Off you go." Thranduil made an annoyed gesture, and the maid hurried away.

* * *

Two hours later he heard a knock on the door, and he smiled in delight. He rose from his chair and opened. Outside he found Cara, dressed in a beautiful quite low cut cream coloured dress. Her blond curls were up in a loose hairdo, decorated with the rose he had sent to her. She looked absolutely delicious.

"Invitation accepted." She smiled and he could detect a hint of naughtiness in her voice. He would have to restrain himself tonight. They would have dinner first, after all.

  
"Welcome. Please, have some wine." He handed over a crystal glass filled to the brim with strong red wine, one of his favourite vintages.

  
"Thank you." She took the glass and sipped the wine looking around the large candle lit room. Her eyes roamed the maps on the walls, the books and his enormous bed. Then they settled on their reflection in the large full length mirror..

  
"The dress really suits you." He said and sipped his own wine. That mirror gave him certain creative ideas. Maybe later.

  
"Thank you." She smiled at him in the mirror.

  
"Please, have a seat. Let's see what my maid has managed to cook for us."

  
They ate and he spoke for quite some time about the geography of Middle Earth and Valinor and the various tribes of elves. Cara had many questions about her new world, and he tried to answer as well as he could.

  
"You should learn to speak and write Sindarin, our language. Since Lord Elrond is on his way I could order Lord Erestor or Lindir to be your tutor. They are both dull and dry as old parchment, but they are good teachers. Ask Legolas about it."

  
"That would be nice. I'm sure I can handle their dullness." She seemed a bit tipsy, just as he was himself.

  
"I think we had enough food for tonight. Let's take our wine and go out on the balcony instead."

  
Thranduil grabbed Cara's hand and led her out on the balcony where he sat down in his favourite chair and pulled her down into his lap. She didn't object, instead she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned in closer to him. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled her scent.

  
"My beautiful Cara." He whispered and let the tip of his tongue caress her ear. She moaned softly and looked up at him, before she kissed him on the lips. Her tongue teased his lower lip and without hesitation he opened up to her, kissing her fiercely with a hunger that almost scared him. This time he would not stop, like he did on the beach..

  
Her hands started to unbutton his black silk tunic, revealing his scarred chest. She moved away from his mouth to kiss him down the neck to his chest. Her warm mouth encircled his nipple. He moaned aloud at the same time as he could hear thunder in the sky. Her hands travelled further down his abdomen until they met the edge of his leggings. He sighed when her hands left him, but it was just temporary. She kissed him, hungrily.  
Her hands travelled down again, stroking his hard lenght through his leggings. Cara moaned. She seemed impressed with his size, and she had every reason to be. He smiled smugly, but stopped thinking all together when Cara's hands found their way into his leggings, grabbing his thick cock with her small hand. He groaned.  
  
Cara smirked and kissed him hard on the mouth again as the first raindrops fell on Valinor that night. Cara's wicked hands kept stroking his cock. If she didn't stop he would come then and there, and that was not acceptable. Her fingers kept teasing his leaking tip, playing him like he was an instrument. He groaned and captured her hand forcefully. He then managed to push her away from him and lifted her up. Her legs embraced his hips almost automatically as he carried her into the room. At the same time the rain started falling heavily on he balcony.

  
He almost carried Cara to the bed, but then his plans changed. The table would be better. He whipped away the plates, the goblets and cutlery. He heard the noise of porcelain and glass breaking when he slammed Cara on the table. He captured her hands above her head before he ripped her gown, he wanted her now. He could buy her a million new once. She was worth it. She had none of the irritating human underwear she had worn on the Island. She was there, naked and gorgeous before him.

  
He spread her legs and he ran a finger over her deliciously wet folds. She moaned.

  
"So wet for me... He groaned, his large fingers playing with her clit.

  
She tried to push her hips closer to him, but he held her in place. He was the one in control now. He wanted to taste this wanton woman, make her come once before he fucked her into oblivion.

  
He spread her legs further and let go of her arms. He buried his face in her dripping wet sex and let his tongue run along her folds, occasionally slipping over her clit. Such an obscenely delicious taste..He smiled against her clit and Cara's moans clashed with the thunder outside. He inserted two fingers, pumping in and out until he found her G-spot. He smiled when he could feel her tensing up under him, moaning uncontrollably. He captured her swollen clit with his lips, sucking and playing with it with his tongue.

"Ah, fuck, don't stop.. Cara moaned, as her inner muscles tensed up.

Thranduil didn't stop, he wanted so badly to see her come, and soon he could feel her inner muscles spasm around his fingers. Her orgasm was almost violent, and her screams of pleasure loud. He was pretty sure the whole house could hear her. So easy to please. So shameless. He looked down at her and licked his fingers. Her big green eyes were glazed over, her pupils dilated. He smirked. A huge lightening bolt lit up the sky outside.

  
"This is only the beginning.." He reached down and kissed her on the lips, letting her taste herself. She moaned into his mouth.

  
He kissed his way down her neck to her breasts and teased her nipples for a while before he grabbed her hips roughly and positioned himself between her legs. He rubbed his hard length along her folds, coating himself with her juices. Cara moaned desperately and tried to push herself closer to him, but he held her hips in a firm grip, his strong hands digging into her soft skin. He teased her entrance with the head of his cock. His control was starting to slip. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her wet cunt, but he also enjoyed teasing her immensely. She was so eager.

"Fuck… I want your cock inside me now!" Cara groaned, her eyes filled with desperation.

He smiled and surrendered to his urges. He slowly sank into her hot and hungry cunt. The thunder and lightning still raged around them. He groaned and Cara cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain and curved her back. She was so tight, and he knew he was stretching her to her very limit. She felt incredible, like she was custom made for him. He let her adjust for a short while before he started moving inside her. He looked down to where they were joined. Him moving in and out of her obscenely wet and tight cunt was the most erotic thing he had ever seen. He had to take a deep breath and closed his eyes to restrain himself. His grip on Cara's hips had lessened and she had started to move, rocking with him, meeting his thrusts. He could not contain himself anymore, a loud groan escaped his lips. By the Valar, she felt so good around him..

  
"Faster Thranduil. Harder. God... you feel so good.." Cara whimpered meeting his thrusts so deliciously.

  
He complied, and he knew he was hitting the right spot since she was getting louder with every thrust he made. She would come soon, and so would he. He made the mistake to open his eyes. He was so weak. Her big green eyes were speaking to him. So unearthly beautiful. Bottomless pools for him to swim in for eternity. He could see a glowing golden light forming around them.

  
Her mind touched his briefly, but he resisted. With a last show of his pure mental strength, he closed his eyes, leaned forward and bit her shoulder, a bit harder than was strictly necessary. She screamed his name, but it felt like a thousand miles away. He felt her inner muscles massaging him so deliciously.

  
"Cara, he groaned into her neck, moving erratically and spilling himself inside of her.

  
Afterwards, he was breathed heavily, kissing her neck. He did not know when he had ever felt like this. She was divine. Cara seemed almost unconscious, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. For a moment he wondered if he had hurt her, but she stirred, when he lifted her into his arms. He carried her to the bed and when he put her down she smiled. Her smile was so pure, so beautiful.

"I almost saw a golden light. It felt so good. I've never come like this before. Thank you. She kissed him on the lips, and he covered her with the fluffy duvet.

  
"You are amazing." He kissed her hard on the forehead, and he meant it, before he joined her under the covers.

  
He held her body, kissing her ears and her cheeks. She was already asleep, due to her half human nature, no doubt. He smiled into her hair. Then his face turned stern. He had almost let himself bond with her. It was a stupid mistake, one he had always avoided with his many mistresses, and even his wife. He could not see himself binding to one elleth for the rest of time. He was not like Celeborn or his father. Not at all. He blamed his slip in judgement on the intrusion Galadriel had made on his mind. He was mentally weak and he evidently couldn't restrain himself. Cara was most definitely not the one.

  
He still allowed himself to cuddle with her. She smelled intoxicatingly good, and she was so beautiful. He would have her again soon, but he would be much more careful next time. She had no idea what these kind of things meant to his people. And he didn't want to tell her either. He slowly bit the tip of her ear, before he caressed it with the tip of his tongue.

  
"Mine. All mine." He whispered into the night. Around them the thunderstorm raged on.


	33. Visitors

Legolas gave up on sleeping about an hour before sunrise. The rain had finally stopped pouring down, but the smell of wet wool and leather was strong in his room. The thunderstorm had taken him by surprise last night and when he came home, he was soaked from head to toe. Luckily no orch attack had followed this downpour, but the weather was indeed strange.

  
He got dressed in dry clothes, and brushed his hair. Then he opened the door to the balcony and carried out all the wet clothes to dry. He had been out in the forest most of the day after arriving at his father's house, mostly because he was truly fed up with Thranduil and his behavior. He had no desire to run into his father, even if Thranduil had tried his best to apologize for what he did. While he to a certain degree understood that maybe his father wasn't really himself after what happened in The Golden Woods, his actions were still despicable. In the end the apology was obviously just empty words. His father could never change, and at the moment he simply didn't want to see him at all.

  
In the terrain around the house he had seen no signs of orc activity, or anything else for that matter. He simply wandered aimlessly for hours, until the thunderstorm hit. At that point it took him half an hour to get back to the house. Thranduil had told him that Gandalf claimed Tol Eressea was better shielded against attacks by the Valar, but he still wanted to be on the lookout for potential threats. Speaking of Gandalf, he very much looked forward to seeing the wizard again. They were the only two living members of the fellowship after all.

  
Legolas left his room and walked towards the kitchen. The house was totally quiet, and it smelled of freshly baked bread and tea when he stepped into the kitchen. Thranduil's maid, Amaria, if he remembered correctly, was sitting on a chair next to the stove reading a small red book. She giggled and the tips her ears were slightly red. He smiled, wondering what she was reading that could be amusing enough to grant such a reaction.

  
Legolas cleared his throat and the poor elleth jumped in her seat.

  
"Lord Legolas! Good Morning, I didn't hear you. Please forgive me." Her whole face had turned bright red and she hastily dropped the book into the pocket of her apron.

  
"No reason to be sorry. I just came for breakfast."

  
The maid nodded.

  
"The eggs are still boiling, but it will only take a few more minutes. Would My Lord like to eat in his room?"

  
Legolas shook his head.

  
"I'll eat here in the kitchen. It's easier for you that way, and please call me Legolas."

  
She nodded, and showed him to the table where she put the teapot, bread rolls and fruit in front of him. He had been without food since last afternoon when they left Elaron and Tildara's cottage, and he was starving. The maid seemed a bit on edge around him at first, but after a while she relaxed and they talked about the weather and other trivial things while she was chopping vegetables and kneeding the dough for a pie crust.

  
"The thunderstorm was quite scary. I haven't seen that kind of weather since I was an elfling." Amaria suddenly admitted.

  
"You grew up in Middle Earth?"

  
She nodded.

  
"Yes, I was born in Lindon a few years before the Last Alliance. My father died on the battlefield, and my mother and I sailed. She is still waiting to see him again, but I don't think we ever will. Things are not as promised here. There are not many that I know who have been reunited with their loved once." She sighed.

  
"Indeed, you are right. When I sailed I expected to be greeted by my mother and my two brothers, and everyone else that I lost in Middle Earth, but it never happened." He sighed and Amaria nodded.

When he was done with his breakfast Legolas went out in the garden, where two elves were working among the flowers. He wondered what he should do today. Perhaps go hunting?Anything that kept him far away from his father worked for him. He sighed, smelled the roses and enjoyed the sound of the waves hitting the shore. He didn't have much time to enjoy the garden though, since he suddenly heard the sound of hooves hitting the ground. He ran back to the house and was met by two riders.

  
The first one was Elrohir, armed to the teeth and dressed in full armor. The one behind him was a more of a surprise for him. The petite dark haired elleth slid off her horse and looked at him with sad eyes.

  
"Nessa?!"

  
"I found her alone in the ruins of her village. She said she knows you." Elrohir said.

  
"I'm sorry for showing up like this, but I had nowhere else to go. The orcs came back, and this time they burned the village to the ground and killed everybody but me. I managed to hide up in a tree. I have nothing and no one left. If you don't want me here I can go back to the city and look for work there."

  
He thought he would never see Nessa again, even if he wanted to. He had been thinking about her a lot after that faithful orc attack at the inn. Many times he wished he had done more than shared a timid kiss.

  
"You are welcome to stay Nessa. This house is very big, and I think my father will need one more maid in his service." He knew he took a huge risk promising her what he did without asking his father first, but part of him felt slightly smug. He called it payback.

  
She rewarded him with a big warm smile. Legolas then turned back to Elrohir.

  
"I am truly sorry about your mother." He said. "How did you manage to get here this fast?"

  
"We rode hard for days and nights. And I suspect we had some help from the Valar as well. My father and the rest are a few days behind, he sent me here to prepare your father for their arrival, and to tell you that your son is alive and well on his way here. These are hard times. I am not sure if father will be able to endure. He has lost way too much in his life."

  
Legolas could see that Elrohir's gray eyes were glazed with tears. He sighed.

  
"Come. There is breakfast for you in the kitchen."

  
"I need to talk to your father. Is he here?" Elrohir asked.

  
"Yes, he is. I'll get him for you." Legolas sighed. His plans to avoid Thranduil went down the drain very quickly.

  
He left Elrohir and Nessa in the kitchen with their breakfast and took the stairs up to his father's room. He put his ear against the door and listened for a moment. Not a sound. He knocked on the door twice, but no one opened. He frowned and grabbed the handle. The door was not locked. In what state would he find his father this time? The sight that met him was chaotic to say the least. Food, bottles and broken plates were on the floor, together with a dress that was ripped in half and other items of clothing that he recognized as his father's. He felt sorry for the poor maid who would do the cleaning.

  
On the bed he could see his father lying on his back, fast asleep. Cara had a leg and an arm wrapped over Thranduil's body, and her head rested on his chest. Cara's lower body was wrapped in a sheet, but that was it as far as covering went. Legolas sighed, and tried not to look at Cara's breasts while he shook his father's shoulder.

  
"Wake up!" He grabbed his father's shoulder hard. Maybe he should try to dislocate it as well when he was at it? He smirked. Thranduil deserved it. Then he came to his senses as Thranduil stirred and Cara moaned next to him.

  
"Oh, shit... Cara's voice was hoarse and she tried desperately to pull the sheet up to cover her breasts. "Thranduil, wake up!"

  
"Legolas.."

  
"Father, Elrohir just arrived. He wishes to talk to you."

  
Thranduil groaned and kissed Cara on her forehead.

  
"Go back to sleep, My sweet. I will be back soon."

  
Cara jawned, smiled and crept back under the covers.

  
"I'll wait outside." Legolas said awkwardly.

  
Legolas was surprised by his father's gentleness. He had walked in on Thranduil and his mistresses more times than he cared to count, but he had never seen Thranduil show much affection towards them. They certainly didn't sleep in his bed after he was done with them either. Even if the people at court knew what the king was up to, Thranduil had always, at least tried to be discreet with his affairs. This was not the case now. Legolas didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing.  
He frowned and waited outside his father's door. five minutes later Thranduil emerged looking as flawless as ever dressed in a long silver gray tunic, black leggings and knee high boots. He had a smile on his lips and was humming a very odd tune. Legolas raised a dark eyebrow.

  
"It is a song from Cara's World." His father said, and there was a spring in his step that Legolas had never seen before.

  
When they reached the kitchen Thranduil had plastered his trademark expression of kingly sternness on back his face, and greeted Elrohir. The dark haired elf didn't seem to notice that anything was off, and Legolas sighed in relief.

  
"Lord Thranduil." Elrohir bowed slightly.

  
"Lord Elrohir. My condolences. How is your father doing?"

  
"My father is doing as well as can be expected due to the circumstances." Elrohir sighed and looked down at his hands in an obvious effort to conceal his the torment he was in.

  
Thranduil nodded, then he turned to Nessa.

  
"And who might this be?"

  
"This is Nessa. A friend of mine. Her village was burned down to the ground. I promised her work as a maid."

  
Thranduil raised an eyebrow, but surprisingly didn't object.

  
"Very well. Amaria, find a suitable room for her. I need to talk in private with my son and Lord Elrohir now." He made a dismissive gesture and Amaria pulled Nessa out of the room.

  
Thranduil sat down, poured some tea for himself and smelled the brew before he tasted it. For a split second he seemed to be back in dreamland, and a small smile played on his lips. Elrohir sighed before he also took a sip of his tea. Legolas sat down on and watched the other two for a while, before Elrohir spoke:

  
"My father Thinks that there is a pattern to the orc attacks. That this was planned by someone with extensive knowledge of Valinor. Most of the attacks have been targeted towards areas where most of the residents are immigrants from Middle Earth. Especially people like us, who arrived late. Rumours are starting to spread.."

  
"Are you saying you think someone here would be allied with Morgoth and his minions? One of our people?" Legolaswas shocked. Still, it was not as far fetched as it sounded. He just didn't want to think that any elf could sink that low.

  
Thranduil nodded.

  
"I think Elrond has a valid point. Someone here in Valinor is up to no good. After what happened in The Golden Woods it is clear that someone is trying to target us."

  
Thranduil then proceeded to tell Elrohir about what happened to him in The Golden Woods. Luckily he withheld some of the more graphic details. Still Elrohir seemed both disgusted and shocked.

  
"It is clearly someone with a very powerful mind."

  
"But who?" Elrohir sounded as confused as Legolas felt.

  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Thranduil opened, and outside he found one of his servants, a rather dull and ratlike elf.

  
"Lord Thranduil. There is a messenger for you, from the High King!"

  
Thranduil raised an eyebrow and Legolas' jaw dropped.

  
Thranduil got up on his feet first, regained his composure, and followed the servant out into the garden. In front of him stood a tall elf with golden hair dressed in the most intricate gold plated armor and a long sky blue cloak. Legolas had seen the armor before, the high kings' guard all wore armor like this. The elf had a stoic expression on his face and in his hand he held a scroll with a golden wax seal.

  
"Message from the High King." The elf said, and Thranduil took the scroll handed to him. He broke the wax seal and read the content with a stern face.

  
"I have been granted an audience with the king." Thranduil looked genuinely surprised, and so was Legolas. He took a deep breath. This was very unusual. Unheard of, in fact. No one had been granted an audience with the king for a thousand years.

* * *

In his study the black haired elf smiled as he twirled a golden goblet in his hand. His latest plan seemed to be going in the right direction. The Mirkwood barbarian had accepted the invitation. Why wouldn't he? It was a great honor to get an audience with the king. He had the king wrapped around his finger, and soon at least Thranduil wouldn't be a problem anymore.

He let his hand run along the first page of the little red book on his desk. He had taken great care in distributing countless copies of this little gem during the last three months. He chuckled. The former Mirkwood king already had a less than stellar reputation, but this had probably made him one of the most despised elves in Valinor. Such depravity was not seen with kind eyes among the elves. Other people's moral failings, always made the rest feel better about themselves. Sometimes, neither magic nor mindcontrol was needed to turn things in his masters favor. He congratulated himself for his own ingenuity.

  
Lord Elrond was another matter entirely. A harder nut to crack in many ways. He seemed to be generally quite well liked by the public, and his image was more or less clean. Still, the spreading of rumours had been quite effective, since late arrivals from Middle Earth was usually viewed with a certain amount of suspicion. Even if the latest attack on New Imladris didn't have the desired effect, it had still weakened the half elf a great deal. Soon he would have one less problem to disturb his sleep.

  
"Lord Thalatar. The King needs your council urgently." His personal servant had entered his study and looked at him with pleading eyes.

  
"Of course, anything for My King."

  
He straightened his robes and picked up two scrolls before following the servant to the king's chambers.


	34. Diamonds are Forever

Cara woke up slowly. A ray of sunlight caressed her face. The bed was warm and soft. For a short while she thought she was in her own bedroom on The Island, but when she opened her eyes, she remembered. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned. Then she smiled, she was pleasantly sore from last night's activities.

  
The room was quiet, and a total mess. The door to the balcony was open and the white curtains billowed slowly in the breeze. From the garden she could hear muffled voices, but she could not understand the words. She wondered how long she had slept.

  
"Damn.." Legolas had seen her almost naked. Now he most definitely knew she was fucking his dad. Embarrassing.. Oh well, nothing to do about it anymore. Her life might be permanently fucked up beyond measure, but at least she had the best sex of her life last night. The images replaying in her mind made the heat pool in her stomach. She really hoped Thranduil would be back soon.

  
She sighed and sat up. She wondered where Thranduil was. Had he been gone for long? My sweet. Nobody had called her that before. She liked it. Her dress was still on the floor, ripped in half. She had nothing to wear, and she really needed a bath. She knew that Thranduil had a bathtub in his bathroom, but that needed to be filled by the servants. The other alternative was the hot spring in the basement, where she had bathed yesterday. It was lovely, so why not.

  
She started searching for something to wear, but found nothing in the room. Then she opened a door and stepped into another room that had to be Thranduil's walk in closet. It was full of clothes, boots and shoes. There was a definite color theme going on. Black, silver, gray and some pops of red and blue. The whole room smelled like him. She buried her nose in a rich midnight blue silk fabric embellished with real crystals.

  
She sighed, and forced herself to get a grip. She had to borrow something to wear. She grabbed some kind of bathrobe looking garment in red velvet and swept it around her body. It was ridiculously large, as expected, but it had to do. She looked like she was dressed in an oversize version of those smoking jackets Hugh Hefner used to wear. At least she found a hairbrush in the bathroom. She dragged it through her curls a few times, but she still definitely looked like she had been ravished by a very horny Elvenking all night. She blew herself a kiss in the mirror before sneaking out in the corridor.

  
She stopped by her own room, grabbed a clean dress and a towel. The maid had brought her several dresses, but no underwear. How did these people function without it? She really needed to find someone who could make her some panties at least. She sighed, and continued to the basement, luckily she hadn't bumped into anyone yet. Damn, Thranduil really had a nice house, or perhaps mansion was a more accurate description. Even the stone pillars in the corridors were sculpted to look like trees and the floor was covered with soft red carpets.

  
Cara admired her surroundings so much that she didn't even notice someone was walking towards her before she hit a solid wall of metal. She squealed and her eyes met a pair of storm gray once when she looked up. She had bumped into a very tall, handsome, black haired elf dressed in some kind of armor.

  
"I'm so sorry. I really didn't see you."

  
"No need to worry My Lady." The elf said and smiled. Then his eyes roamed her features and his expression changed to quizzical.

  
"Have we met before?"

  
She shook her head.

  
"No. I'm not from around here. My name is Cara"

  
"Elrohir Elrondion." The elf said and bowed slightly with his hand on his heart. "I just thought you looked very familiar."

  
Cara sighed. Was this yet another elf that knew her biological father and saw the resemblance? Suddenly she felt a slight blush creep up her cheeks. God, she probably looked totally ridiculously inappropriate dressed in Thranduil's clothes. And she probably reeked of sex and yesterday's wine.

  
"How nice to see that the two of you have gotten acquainted already." She suddenly heard Thranduil's voice behind her. It was dripping with sarcasm. She sighed.

  
"Well, have a nice day, Lady Cara." Elrohir said with a smile and left her alone with Thranduil, who looked anything but happy. She had seen that expression before.

  
"He only told me his name."

  
"Do you know Elrond's sons are notoriously known for being loose?"

  
"No. How am I supposed to know that? It's not like I own a guidebook to the loosest elves in Valinor! And, frankly, I don't care either."

  
A small smirk suddenly played on Thranduil's lips, and before Cara could react, he had grabbed her ass, lifted her up and slammed her against the wall. He kissed her fiercely and she probably should have pushed him away, just to make a point, but instead she kissed him back just as hard and wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with his silky hair. She was way too horny to say no. She had waited for him too long when he was away.

  
He pushed the robes she was wearing open and started playing with her clit. Damn, he really had talented hands. It didn't take long before she could feel herself getting ridiculously wet again. She moaned into his mouth before he broke the kiss. His lips touched her ear and he whispered:

  
"I want to be inside you.. Now.."  
She smiled and pushed herself as close to him as she could, to tease.

  
"Here? Where everybody can see us?" She whispered and Thranduil desperately tried to unlace his leggings. She reached down and helped him free himself.

  
"Let them see." He panted into her ear, the tip of his cock teasing her entrance. "Let them see how much you love my cock." He pushed inside her roughly and she cried out in pleasure, her head falling back against the wall. God, he felt so good when he moved inside her. He knew exactly what to do and she could feel him, brushing against her G-spot. Her toes curled with each thrust he made.

  
"Show them who you belong to." He groaned and picked up the pace.

  
The rough wall was scratching her back, but she didn't care. She could feel her orgasm building inside her. Fuck, it turned her on so much when he talked like that. She tried to hold back her scream when she fell over the edge, but it didn't go as planned. Instead she screamed his name loud enough for half of the house to hear. She could almost feel his smirk against her neck as her inner walls contracted around him. He continued to fuck her until she felt his hot seed filling her. He muffled a grunt against her neck.

  
They stayed still for a while, both panting heavily. He kissed her on her mouth.

  
"You need to stop being so jealous." She smiled, and played with a strand of his hair.

  
He didn't answer, but he let go of her. Her legs were shaking a bit, but she could stand up on her own two feet. She felt his cum running down the inside of her legs.

  
"Where were you going?"

  
"To take a bath. And I need it even more now." She answered.

  
"I think I'll join you."

  
He took her hand and together they walked to the bath.

* * *

"Come, I have something to show you." Thranduil said with a smile and made a sign urging Cara to follow him.

They were done bathing and Cara was decently dressed in a clean blue velvet dress. Her hair was still damp, but at least she smelled good. She had applied some rose and violet oils after her bath, and she felt generally relaxed. She followed Thranduil through another corridor in the basement, until they stopped outside a heavy wooden door. Thranduil took a key from his pocket and one of the lanterns from the wall.

  
"Are you going to chain me up in your secret sex dungeon?" Cara joked.

  
"Don't give me ideas, my sweet." He smirked and kissed her on her forehead.

  
He opened the door and entered a small room. Cara's jaw dropped when the light from the lantern lit up the room. It was filled with more gold, jewels and other precious items than she had ever seen before in her life. Some of the stones glittered in the candlelight like stars in the night sky.

  
"Behold, my treasure hoard. I spent years, upon years collecting these treasures. People gave me the title of most greedy elf in Middle Earth, and rightfully so. Now I feel all of this means nothing to me anymore."

  
He lifted a necklace adorned with what looked like diamonds and emeralds and put it around Cara's neck. She was pretty sure she could have bought a decent house for a necklace like this if she was back on Earth. She reluctantly touched it. It was stunning.

  
"It looks good with your eyes. Once, long ago it belonged to a great dwarf queen." Thranduil said.

  
"You can't give me something like this. It is way to expensive." She shook her head.

  
"Yes, I can. And you will accept it." He smiled at her and his pale blue eyes glittered like the gems around him.

  
"Thank you." She simply said, as he placed another necklace around her neck. This one was longer, and adorned with rubies.

  
"I want you to come with me to Valmar when I meet with the king. Will you join me?"

  
She nodded. The fact was that at the moment she didn't want him to leave her. He was pretty much the only good thing going on in her life, despite his jealousy. The sad fact was that trait turned her on more than she cared to admit to herself. Maybe she was insane?

  
It was ironic really. In her former life she had chased men like him. Men with money and status. She had put up with assholes like Steve just because she wanted those superficial things. Now she cared as little about appearances as Thranduil seemed to care for his treasure hoard. She was just happy to be alive, and she was pretty sure she would have felt exactly the same for him if he had been just any ordinary man, or elf.

  
She had been violently attracted to him almost from the beginning, and in a way it scared her. Was this love or simply lust? She had no idea, after all she had never been in love before. What did he feel for her? She didn't want to ask, she simply had to keep calm and go with the flow and see where it led her.

  
"I was wondering. Could you teach my maids how to make pizza?" The slightly odd request made her snap out of her thoughts and she started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

  
"Of course. But I'm not sure you have the right ingredients here. There will be no pineapple on it, at least."

  
"I think I can survive that." He said and placed a diamond bracelet on her arm.

* * *

Two hours later Cara was in the kitchen making a large pizza dough. With some experimentation, she seemed to be on her way to a great pizza. Amaria was warming the oven and Nessa was crushing tomatoes for the sauce. It would of course not be exactly the same as at home, but she had always liked cooking, and it was a nice distraction from everything else going on in her life.

She really hoped that Nessa and Amaria hadn't heard her screwing Thranduil in the corridor earlier, but if they had, they certainly didn't make a fuss about it or looked at her in an odd way. Both of them seemed nice enough. Very different from her, but that was no surprise, they were from different worlds and had live completely different lives after all. They had both asked her many questions about her world, but it was a bit difficult to explain most things. So many concepts were totally alien to them. Nevertheless, it was nice to have a conversation with some new people. However, being around other women made her miss Erica terribly. She still blamed herself for her death.

  
Nessa was a curious case. She obviously seemed attracted to Legolas. She had told Cara many times about how he had saved her from the orcs. In a way Nessa was in the same situation as she was herself with Thranduil. She just hoped she didn't put Thranduil up on a pedestal in the same way as Nessa did with Legolas. Cara frowned.

  
She sighed and made three big pizza crusts. She topped them with different toppings. She was happy she had found something in Valinor that was almost the same as Parma ham. It was her favourite topping along with olives. They had olives as well, but no bell peppers. 

  
"Do you have more recipes you can teach us about from your world?" Amaria said when the pizzas were finally in the oven.

  
"Sure. I have many." Cara smiled.

  
"Would you like some tea while we wait?" Amaria asked, and both Cara and Nessa nodded.


	35. The Lady and the Snake

Five days had passed since the arrival of Elrohir and Nessa. He would have liked to spend a bit more time with Nessa, but things were the way they were. His father hired even more servants to prepare for the arrival of Lord Elrond's party and the commotion had kept Nessa busy with cleaning, washing and cooking. The moments they had spent together were precious though. They took long  walks on the beach every night, and she was just as sweet, caring and beautiful as that first faithful night when he had met her at the inn. Legolas still hadn't told her about the fact that he was divorced though. He was a bit worried about how she would react, but at least she knew he had two children, and that meant she probably was quite accepting of the fact that he had a past.

  
A divorce was not the way of their people. Some would call it scandalous, and unlike his father, he did care about such things a great deal. Speaking of Thranduil. He and Cara did nothing to conceal their relationship. They kissed each other passionately for everyone to see, and she made no secret of the fact that she slept in his bed every night.

Still, they both seemed very happy at the moment, and his father had hardly been drinking at all, besides a glass of wine with his meals. He was spoiling Cara rotten by showering her with priceless items of jewelry, and he had ordered seamstresses and shoe makers from the nearby villages to make a luxurious wardrobe for her. Legolas frowned. It was probably the only way Thranduil knew to show his affection for her. Still, he wondered what someone like Elrond would say about their relationship, especially once he knew who Cara's father was. This type of behavior might be acceptable in Cara's world, but here it was even more scandalous than his own divorce. Affairs outside of marriage were not unheard of, but they should be conducted discreetly.

  
He sighed. Tonight he had asked Nessa to join him for a romantic picnic on the cliffs south of the house. It was his favourite place to go when he needed to think, and he wanted to show it to her. The thought made him slightly nauseous. What if she rejected him? Many a good elleth probably would, with a past like his. He had asked Cara to make some of those peculiar sandwiches that he knew Nessa had liked very much yesterday. Cara's experiments in the kitchen had been a welcome distraction for all of them, and the new dishes she served were mostly delicious.

  
Legolas went down to the kitchen to pick up the picnic basket. He found Cara there with Amaria. Cara was adding drops of oil to a bowl at the same time as Amaria was stirring like there was no tomorrow. On the table were a bunch of lettuce and tomatoes along with newly baked buns with poppy seeds on them.

  
"I think we are done. It looks great!" Cara smiled, dipped a spoon in the bowl and tasted the odd looking light yellow concoction. "It sure tastes like mayonnaise." She nodded in approval.

  
Legolas smiled. He liked the way Cara was enthusiastic about the small things in life. It was probably because she was so young, he mused. Maybe that was what his father saw in her? Or maybe it was simply lust and greed on Thranduil's part, as usual.

  
"Legolas, sorry I didn't hear you coming." She turned to him. "We have your picnic basket ready for you."

  
Amaria picked up a basket from the kitchen counter and gave it to Legolas.

  
"Thank you. It was very kind of you to help me with this." Legolas smiled.

  
"No problems. Enjoy your date with Nessa. And thanks for training with me today." Cara said with a smirk.

  
Legolas nodded and could feel the tips of his ears turning red. Yes, he would most certainly enjoy the "date" as Cara called it. But would Nessa? He had one more surprise for her that he hoped she would enjoy just as much as the food and wine. Or at least he thought so.

* * *

He went to Nessa's room and knocked on the door. She opened a few seconds later, and she looked as lovely as ever, dressed in a clean and simple white dress. She was so unlike his former wife who always dressed in the most expensive and intricate bejeweled silk gowns. Her long dark hair fell freely over her shoulders without adornments. She needed none. Her beautiful smile was enough to make his knees weak.

  
"Are you ready for our picnic?" He said and took her small hand in his. She nodded and smiled.

  
They slowly walked together along the narrow path to the cliff. The afternoon was hot, with no clouds in the sky. Nessa seemed to enjoy having some time off and was chatty and relaxed. When the trees ended and the landscape turned into a narrow strip of grass before the steep and brutal cliff drop. Legolas put the blanket down, far enough from the edge of the cliff for them to feel safe. Nessa started unpacking the picnic basket, but Legolas stopped her.

  
"I have something to show you first. A surprise, but you have to close your eyes." He smiled. At first Nessa looked a bit scared, but then she sighed and closed her eyes.

  
Legolas took her hand and lead her to an old oak tree. He had worked on this for hours. Building things was not one of his talents, but this had turned out pretty well, he thought.

  
"You may look now." He said, and Nessa opened her eyes.

  
"A swing?!" She looked both happy and surprised at the same time.

  
"Yes, I thought it would make you happy. You told me two days ago that you missed the one you had at home."

  
"Thank you. I don't know what to say. It's very thoughtful of you." Nessa got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek and lovely blush spread over her ears.

  
"Please, try it." He said and Nessa sat down and started swinging with a big smile on her lips. She picked up speed fast, to a point that almost made Legolas scared, but she seemed to enjoy herself at least. Suddenly she let go of the swing and jumped. She squealed and landed elegantly on her feet next to Legolas. It made him smile.

  
"You should try it too." She said.

  
"Don't worry. I will, but now, let's eat."

  
Nessa sat down on the blanket, unpacked the sandwiches and Legolas opened the wine bottle and poured two glasses. They ate and drank for a while, enjoying the weather and the view. After two glasses of wine he finally found the courage to confess to Nessa about his divorce. He prayed to the Valar she would be able to look past his mistakes.

  
"There is something I need you to know." He said and swallowed. "You know I have two children. Well, I used to be married, and I am not a widower. My marriage ended, not long ago in a divorce. I know it is a very shameful thing, and I understand if you do not want to take things any further with someone like me."

  
Nessa looked at him for a while, trying to take in what he just said. Then she sighed.

  
"Do you really think it matters to me?" She said. "It might not be the way of our people, but much of what I've seen the past month of my life has been far from normal. You are a good person, and as long as we are happy, the past will not change a thing."

  
He could not help but to smile.

  
"Really?"

  
"Yes." She leaned in and kissed him timidly. Her lips were soft and warm and he kissed her back, a bit harder. He really hoped she was sincere and that she didn't accept him as he was just because she was lonely, frightened and had nobody else to turn to. She moaned with disappointment into the kiss when they suddenly heard someone coming.

  
"Lord Legolas!" One of his father's servants stood in front of them. The timing could hardly be worse and the poor servant turned red as a tomato. He reluctantly let go of Nessa.

  
"Yes?" He said, and he could hear that his tone was a bit harsher than he would have liked to.

  
"Lord Elrond's party has arrived, along with your son." The servant said and avoided Legolas eyes.

  
He nodded, and started collecting what was left of the picnic in the basket, while Nessa neatly folded the blanket. His son was back! That made up for being disturbed by the annoying servant.

  
"Come Nessa, you will meet Fëanáro now."

  
Nessa nodded.

  
"I'm not used to being around children. I was among the youngest in my village, and I am over two thousand years old." She smiled. "But, I'll try my best."

  
"I'm sure he will like you." Legolas hoped and prayed it was true. His son was not the easiest child to please and sadly he had inherited his grandfather's bad temper.

* * *

When they reached the house there were over twenty elves and several more horses in the garden. He could see his father talking to Lindir and Erestor. Thranduil seemed angry for some reason, very angry, in fact. Elrond was nowhere to be seen. Something felt very wrong. Legolas' heart started beating faster.

"Ada, ada!" Fëanáro came running and threw himself at Legolas. He took the elfling in his arms and lifted him up. The boy wrapped his arms around Legolas' neck.

  
"Ada, I've missed you." The boy said.

  
"And I have missed you." Legolas smiled and looked at the boy. His small blue eyes were filled with sadness and it broke Legolas heart.

  
"Are you feeling sad my dear?" Legolas asked.

  
The boy nodded, but didn't say anything more. His grip around Legolas' neck tightened.

  
"Do you want to tell ada about what happened?" He asked, but the boy just shook his head. He sighed.

  
"Who is that?" Fëanáro suddenly pointed at Nessa.

  
"This is Nessa. A friend." Nessa smiled and the boy looked at her with suspicious eyes. "And this, is your grandfather." Legolas pointed at Thranduil, who walked towards them, still looking furious.

  
"He looks mean." The boy gripped Legolas tighter and watched Thranduil with eyes like saucers. He could hardly blame the elfling, Thranduil indeed looked like a storm cloud.

  
"Elrond has been abducted!" Thranduil said without looking at the elfling.

  
"What?" Legolas felt dumbfounded.

  
"Lindir! Tell my son what happened."

  
The timid looking brown haired elf almost stumbled on his own robes as he hurried towards Legolas.

  
"It happened a day's ride from Valmar." Lindir sounded scared. "We made camp, and Lord Elrond said he needed some time on his own. He wandered into the woods. We became worried when he hadn't returned by nightfall. I and some of the warriors went looking for him, but the only thing we found was a piece of his cloak, some blood on the ground and signs of struggle. Everything points to the fact that he has been abducted. The tracks ended a bit further into the woods." Lindir looked down at his shaking hands.

  
Legolas sighed. Closer to the house he could see Elrohir standing with Erestor. Elrohir was screaming at the other elf, looking furious. He swallowed. This was bad, very bad. Was this the work of the same evil elf in league with Morgoth? It was highly likely.

* * *

He looked at the elleth on the other side of the table. She was dressed in a no doubt very fashionable canary yellow silk dress adorned with gold thread and light green gemstones. Her golden hair was done up in a tight and high hairdo with a large golden hair comb and several smaller clips with precious stones. As all other prominent ladies in Valmar her lashes were colored pitch black and her lips were cherry red. Indeed, she was pretty, but pretty didn't do it for him. His tastes were far more exotic than that.

She was just another golden haired beauty among a million others in Valmar, albeit a scandalous one. After her divorce from Thranduil's barbaric, idiotic son, she had been socially shunned in the capital. The scandal of the century people whispered. Her tool of a father had been over the moon when he agreed to take her out for dinner. The food was boring and tasteless to him, even if it was prepared by one of the most prominent chefs in the city, and the conversation had been dull, as expected. Yet he considered taking her to his bed. Maybe not tonight, but he suspected she would be desperate enough to gain his favor to grant him some of his more tame desires.

  
It would probably not be very satisfying for him, but in the end her humiliation, when he revealed his true self would be so much sweeter. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Her eyes slightly glazed over by the wine. Her former father in law was now considered the most perverted and despicable elf in Valinor thanks to little smear campaign with the book. Thranduil's escapades were tame however, compared to what he liked himself. This little elleth would get to taste some of it before the end.

  
"It has been a lovely evening, Lady Enelya." He purred and kissed her hand. She blushed and giggled pathetically. He knew she found him handsome, but would she like his real face when he revealed it to her? No, she wouldn't. She would be terrified, but then it would already be too late for her to escape.

  
"Yes, it has been lovely, Lord Thalatar. I hope we can have dinner again sometime."

  
"Yes, we most certainly will, My Lady."

  
As he walked home the short distance to the Palace, he was delighted. The prisoner was locked up in the only cell in the palace, and while he would have liked to play a bit with the half-breed lord, he had to keep calm. The King knew that Lord Elrond was in custody, and even if he had the king wrapped around his finger, suggesting torture on one of their own people was too radical. He would have to wait. Soon the half-breed would have company. He smiled.

  
As he had locked himself safely in his study, he opened the secret door behind the bookshelf and stepped in front of the black altar. He kneeled and closed his eyes.

  
"Melkor, my beloved master. Give me strength to complete my mission." He whispered and as he reached out his mind, he could feel the dark and warm embrace of his master. He delighted in it for a while before he opened his eyes and got up on his feet.

  
He removed the necklace with the red gem. His true face was no longer concealed, and in the mirror he looked at his skin transforming from the healthy complexion of an elf to a very pale gray. His hair was still long, shiny and black, but his eyes were a light yellow and his pupils narrow slits. A slight smile revealed his pointed teeth. His transformation was almost complete now. At first he had been horrified by the way he looked, but gradually he had learned to love his new face. It was a gift from his master after all, and everything his master gave him he embraced. His master had given him power beyond anything he had ever dreamed possible.


	36. Beloved Master

Cara was once again sitting by the large wooden table in the kitchen. This time she was not making food though. On the other side of the table Legolas' son Fëanáro and Elrohir's son Elros were making small figures from play-dough. She had somewhat successfully managed to recreate the play-dough recipe that her grandmother used to make for her and Evelyn on The Island when they were younger.

  
She had ended up more or less being a nanny to the elflings, since Elrohir had taken off suddenly to look for his father. The elf had been near what she would all a mental breakdown, and Legolas had taken it upon himself to go after him, and hopefully convince his friend to not put himself in harm's way because of his anger. It was nice of Legolas, and probably necessary, but she felt sorry for the boys, who were yet again separated from their fathers. They had been through many traumatic experiences lately.

  
The boys were generally very well behaved and they were a nice distraction from the current chaos in Cara's life. She found it quite odd how unaccustomed many of the elves were to children. Both Nessa and Amaria seemed clueless around the boys, but Thranduil had explained that children were quite rare in Valinor. She had just happened to meet Elaron and Tildara's son as soon as she arrived in Valinor. Other than her, it was mostly Lindir and Erestor, who took care of the boys, since they were their teachers. She was thankful that both elevs tried to continue the daily lessons, like if they were back home. Some continuity was probably good for the children, made them feel a bit safer as the chaos raged around them.  
Two days ago a tall, very beautiful woman had arrived together with some guards. She was apparently Thranduil's cousin's wife Galadriel, and she made Cara feel slightly ill at ease. It was like her blue eyes could see right through her. The assumption was probably also correct, at least from what Thranduil had told her about what happened in The Golden Woods. At the moment Thranduil, Galadriel, Erestor and Lindir were in yet another meeting in Thranduil's study.

  
"Lady Cara?"

  
"Yes, what is it Fëanáro?"

  
"Are you my grandmother?"

"No I'm not your grandmother." Cara frowned. "What made you think that?"'

  
"I saw you kissing my grandfather in the garden." The blond elfling said matter-of-factly.

  
Cara sighed. Jesus, kids were the same in every world. Nothing went unnoticed, apparently. She had no idea what to answer.

  
"Hey, why don't we have a sandwich and a glass of milk. Lindir will be here soon to take you to your lesson. I bet you are both hungry." Elros nodded, but Fëanáro didn't seem satisfied with her lack of an answer.

  
"But.." The blond elfling said. Luckily he was interrupted by someone walking through the door. It was one of Galadriel's guards, the one called Haldir. She sighed. He was probably looking for Amaria again. It was quite obvious that he had the hots for the maid, and he was not exactly discreet either. The constant sleazy compliments he showered Amaria with making Cara cringe. At the moment he held a pink rose in his hand. The term "fuckboy" came to mind when it came to Haldir. Amaria was not interested in the blond elf, even if she admitted he was quite handsome. Simply not her type.

  
"Lady Cara." The elf said with one of his cocky trademark smirks on his face. "I was looking for Amaria. Do you happen to know where she is?"

  
"Nope. I have no idea." Cara lied, even if she knew Amaria was in the wine cellar looking for a suitable wine for tonight's dinner. It was quite ironic really. The elves often tried to seem like the pinnacle of morality, but to her it seemed like quite a few of them were almost as lustful as humans. In that sense she appreciated Thranduil. At least he was honest with who he was, when it came to their relationship.

  
"Oh, well. Could you please tell Amaria I'm looking for her?"

  
"Sure. No problem." Cara smiled, and put a sandwich and a glass of milk in front of each of the elflings.

  
"Thank you Lady Cara." Haldir said, bowed slightly and disappeared again.

  
The boys happily ate their sandwiches, and it seemed Fëanáro had forgotten his questions about her and Thranduil. She sighed with relief.

  
A while later Amaria came back with a basket full of wine bottles, and when she entered the kitchen, she bumped into Lindir who came to get the elflings for their lesson. The timid elf excused himself a number of times and blushed. He was simply adorable, Cara thought to herself and almost broke into laughter. Lindir was also the first elf she had seen that had brown eyes. It seemed like something rather unusual among the elves, just like dark hair seemed more rare than blond.  
Lindir said something in Sindarin to the boys, who immediately got up on their feet. The only thing Cara could pick up was "lesson". But at least that was something. She had only studied the language for two days with Erestor. After dinner they would have their third evening of lessons. There would sadly be a break from their lessons soon though. The next day, she and Thranduil would leave for Valmar.

  
She was no longer sure she wanted to go, but Thranduil still insisted she'd come with him, even if he himself had his reservations about going. Part of her wanted to stay here, but another part of her could not bare the thought of leaving him. Being close to him was almost like a scary addiction that she could not wrap her head around. She had never in her life felt like this before, and it couldn't simply be because the sex was mind blowing. Or could it? Once again her thoughts went back to their first time together, and the golden light. For a moment it had almost felt like she was inside his mind. She frowned. Thranduil hadn't given her any clear answer when she tried to ask him if he had felt the same. Maybe he just thought her silly. Anyway, she hadn't felt that same feeling again and they've had sex many times since that night. It was most likely her imagination playing tricks on her. She sighed loudly.

  
How she wished she had someone to talk to. Someone whom she knew well. All the people around her were new, and they were very different from her and the people she was used to. Sure, they all seemed nice, but they were not yet her friends, and she could not speak to them about intimate things like this. How different it would have been if Erica had been alive, and here with her. She would most probably have something smart to say about the situation. Hell, even Evelyn with her snarky remarks would have been nice to have around now. Or well, maybe not. Evelyn would probably have told her to get a grip and that she was only into Thranduil because he was hot and had money. Cara smirked to herself. In her former life, and with some other guy that might very well have been the case, but this was way different.

  
"I'm going to the garden to get some fruit and vegetables." Amaria said, and Cara snapped out of her thoughts. She nodded and the maid took her basket and hurried away to the garden.

  
Cara found herself alone in the kitchen and wondered what she would do next. Perhaps she should take a bath before dinner? Suddenly her eyes fell upon a small red book on the floor. Amaria must have dropped it when she bumped into Lindir earlier. Cara frowned and picked it up. The cover was velvety smooth and there was no text on it. She had seen Amaria reading it a few times, always a bit too eager to put it away as soon as Cara approached. It could hardly hurt to take a look, could it? Most likely she would not understand many words anyway.

  
She opened the book and the only word she could pick out on the title page was "king". Probably a history book then. She turned to a random page where she found an illustration. This was not a history book. Definitely not. More like porn. The illustration was very graphic and realistic. Then she immediately recognized the facial features of the male elf in the picture. Was this supposed to be Thranduil? Her heart started beating faster as she turned the pages until she found another illustration, and then another. Yes, it was definitely him.

  
"What the fuck?!" She said aloud just as Amaria entered the kitchen again. The elleth squealed in horror and dropped the basket, oranges, apples and carrots rolling all over the floor.

  
"No, no, no.." Amaria pleaded and her face and ears turned bright red. "I didn't know it was about him when I got the book from my cousin. I swear. Please don't tell anyone." Amaria seemed like she was about to cry.

  
"The likeness is quite striking isn't it?" Cara hissed and didn't know if she should laugh or cry. The situation was utterly bizarre. She was ashamed for doing a topless photo shoot when she was twenty and broke, but now it turned out Thranduil was apparently the porn star of Valinor. Probably not voluntarily though. "Does he know about this?"

'  
The elleth looked devastated.

  
"I don't know." She whispered. "Please, don't tell anyone, I beg you. I didn't mean to hurt anyone by reading it. It's just that almost everybody has read this book in the last five months, since it showed up everywhere. I was just curious. My cousin basically threw it at me.. Please Cara. He will fire me if he finds out, won't he?"

  
"I don't know." She admitted. Amaria might be right. She wondered if Thranduil knew and simply hadn't told her about the book, or if he had no idea about its existence. In a way she almost felt a bit sorry for the elleth, but still she was angry. What was she to do? She slipped the book into her pocket.

  
"I have to think about this." She simply said. She understood that sometimes curiosity could make people do stupid things. On the other hand, she felt disrespected herself since she was involved with Thranduil. The book's content itself didn't bother Cara that much personally, she had probably seen and read much worse at home. Still, she felt a bit suspicious as to why this book seemed to be circulating at this very moment. This was simply slander, and with the way elevs most likely viewed this kind of behavior the consequences for Thranduil would be harsh. Hadn't Elrohir told them many times that someone was spreading rumours about Elrond as well. Calling him a warmonger and a half-breed with no right to be in Valinor. This couldn't be a coincidence could it?

  
Cara fled the kitchen and left a devastated Amaria behind her.

* * *

 

"No elleth has ever asked me to do that before. Did you really enjoy it?" Thranduil smiled and dragged his thumb over Cara's bottom lip.

He had come all over her tits and her chin, but, damn, did she like it! Her greedy hands massaged his cum all over her hard, pink nipples...

"Yes, I did. Very much in fact. You're such an innocent boy, aren't you, Thranduil." Cara teased. He smiled and kissed her.

It was way past midnight, and they were lying in his bed face to face, Cara was drawing circles with her finger on his chest. Outside it was pitch black, and only the sound of the waves against the shore could be Heard. She sighed, and leaned closer to him. He had managed to make her forget everything about the book for a few hours, but now it all came back to her. The book was still tucked away in the pocket of her dress. Should she tell him? She sighed.

  
"There is something you need to know." She said tentatively.

  
"Yes?" He lifted an eyebrow and looked at her.

  
"I found something in the house today that you probably need to see. It's not something good, but you deserve to know anyway."

She decided to leave Amaria out of the whole thing for now.

  
Cara got up and walked over to her dress that was tossed over a chair. She pulled out the book and took it back to bed.

  
"This book is apparently circulating all over Valinor. I can't read it myself, but the illustrations give me a good idea what it is about."

  
Thranduil took the book and started reading. His face turned angrier, and angrier by the minute, but he didn't seem as shocked as she had expected.

  
"Where did you find it?"

  
"You knew?"

  
"Yes. During the little incident that I told you about in The Golden Woods, my cousin's daughter told me about a book supposedly written by one of my former mistresses. But I thought there were only one or two copies of it. Where did you find this?"

  
"In the kitchen..." She cursed herself the moment she let it slip, but Thranduil didn't ask any more questions.

  
"Damn it!" Tranduil threw the book away with force. It bounced against the wall and landed on the carpet. "Everything in that book is probably true. I am the architect of my own destruction. I don't really care what people think of me, but someone has found a very clever way to destroy my reputation. I am probably the most hated elf in Valinor now, people are conservative here."

  
"That much I have noticed, yes. Who do you think is spreading this shit? I didn't even know there were printed books here. It must be someone with a lot of resources. Maybe the same elf you and Legolas have been talking about. The one in league with Morgoth, who wants the keys? It must be someone important."

  
Thranduil took a deep breath and nodded. Then he was quiet for a while, before he said:

  
"I'm sorry Cara. This is the person I am. My past will always haunt me." Thranduil pulled her closer and kissed her on her forehead. She could feel his heart beating fast. She shook her head.

  
"Believe me, I've seen much worse at home. I don't think any less of you, because of this. In fact, I like what you are." She pushed herself closer to him and pulled the covers up around them like a warm protective wall. "But, maybe we shouldn't go to Valmar at all. With everything that has happened lately, it's probably not safe."

  
Thranduil sighed.

  
"It's not that simple, Cara. One does not decline an audience with the king. Especially not when I myself was the one asking for it. It is my duty to at least try to warn the king about the situation we are dealing with."

  
"Get a grip. What if you get abducted like Elrond, or killed by orcs, or I don't know what. What if it is the king himself that is in League with Morgoth?"

  
"The king would never do such a thing. He has ruled this realm for thousands upon thousands of years, and he hates Morgoth just as much as any other elf."

  
"Ok, but people can change, you know. Please think about it, ok. I'm scared of going to Valmar." Cara admitted.

  
"I have to go, with or without you."

  
"Then I'll come with you." She said, but regretted it almost instantly. A feeling of dread was lurking deep in her stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

* * *

 

He touched the prisoner on the cheek, quite gently in fact. He explored his cheekbone and the wrinkles around his eyes. Curious. He looked so very human, but yet his ears and his demeanor was so very elven. He was really delightful, something for him to explore, pleasure and mutilate. There was a very thin line between pleasure and pain his beloved Master had taught him, time after time. His lessons had changed Thalathar's body, but they had also made him the man he was. No one, could ever compare to his beautiful, dark master.

  
Elrond was chained to the cell wall, by his hands and currently he was sitting on the narrow ,hard bed that was provided for him. Elrond was fading. His beloved wife dead, and only one of his three children alive as far as he knew. Very heartbreaking. Thalathar smirked and traced the shell of the ear of his prisoner. The half-breed tried to get away, but Thalathar pushed him against the wall. He bit the tip of Elrond's ear, a bit harder than necessary, but still enough to provoke a soft hiss from the former lord of Rivendell.

  
If he only had some more time... How he would love to see Elrond defeated under him, moaning in a sweet mix of pleasure, hate and pain. Sadly, it had to wait. The king might have granted him a certain amount of privileges, but still, he had to watch what he was doing very carefully. The elves viewed all kinds of immoral behavior against their own race as sinful, and that perticular trate was hard to erase from his king, no matter how much of his mind control he used,  
"Who are you? You are a Noldor, one of my kind, and yet you do this to me. Why?" Elrond's voice was harsh and he looked down onto his own hands. Thalathar smirked and kissed the tip of Elrond's ear.

  
"Why? Because it is what you deserve? Half-breed Elrond."

  
"I do not know who you are, or where you are from, but aligning yourself with Morgoth will be your doom."

  
Thalathar laughed. The damn half-breed had no idea what was coming for him. If the guards wouldn't be nearby he would have ripped the clothes from Elrond's body and fucked him into submission, but that was only happening in his fantasies, sadly. He had to leave the cell empty handed.

  
Still,he was satisfied that the King was firmly under his control and things were going his masters way.


	37. The Way To Valmar

The next morning came way too soon for Cara's taste. Her night had passed slowly, cuddled up to Thranduil, restlessly in and out of sleep. Most of the time she had listened to the waves or watching Thranduil, who didn't seem to have the same problem as her. He had been fast asleep all night. When she had fallen asleep for a short while she had woken up sweaty from very unpleasant dreams. Dreams about orcs, or doctors poking her with needles against her will.  
When the first rays of sunlight crept over the horizon, she gave up completely, wrapped herself in the duvet and went out on the terrace where she sat until she heard Thranduil's voice behind her.

  
"Trouble sleeping?" He wrapped his arms around Cara's shoulders and kissed her on her neck.

  
She nodded and leaned closer to him.

  
"Why didn't you wake me up? I could have helped you…" He reached up to run his tongue along her ear, and his hand went up to cup her left breast under the duvet. Sadly, it didn't have the usual effect on her.

  
"Not out here. The kids might see us." She whispered in a more annoyed tone than she originally intended.

  
Thranduil sighed and sat down in a chair next to her..

  
"I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous for the journey to Valmar, and I'm really tired." She said half to herself.

  
Thranduil nodded, but remained quiet for a while looking at her curled up in her chair. Around them the birds were singing like it was just any other day and in the distance they could both hear the children playing down on the beach.

  
"I understand." Thranduil finally said. "You know I'll protect you.."

  
"Yes, I know you will. But still we never know what might happen. I'll still go with you though. I'm just not looking forward to it."

  
Thranduil nodded.

* * *

 

The first few days of their journey to Valmar passed by without any incident. In fact Cara rather enjoyed watching the beautiful landscapes of Tol Eressea pass them by and the weather was lovely and sunny. She was not used to riding though, and when they rested for the night her whole body was sore. Thranduil, however assured her that the soreness would pass once her muscles got used to riding. She really hoped he was right. God, how she missed her car!

  
The journey over to the mainland on the boat also went somewhat well, besides that the ship was packed with people. She and Thranduil had to share a small cabin with Another couple and there was no privacy at all. For the first time Cara also noticed how much she really stood out. Many times the elves stopped and stared at her. Occasionally she got questions and comments out of the blue from other passengers about her being half human. Most of the time she recognized that people were only curious, but the term half-breed irked her somewhat.

  
As for Thranduil, it was pretty clear quite a few of the passengers on the ship recognized him, most probably from the lovely little book about him that was circulating. A few people looked at him in disgust, but thankfully no one made any remark. Probably the two swords strapped to his belt most of the time had something to do with it, Cara mused.

  
And then there was this one woman who clearly was checking Thranduil out, and even flirting with him openly. Not everyone was apparently a prude in Valinor. The dark haired elleth was obviously hungry for Thranduil's cock.. Stupid skank. Cara was familiar with women like her and she was not intimidated. Thranduil was clearly not interested either. The whole situation was quite awkward though, to say the least, and when Cara spotted the coast in the distance she could not be happier.

* * *

"Finally.." Cara sighed when they were on land along with their horses and belongings.

  
"We must continue on as quickly as possible. There is an inn in a village that we should reach in early afternoon." Thranduil stated as he helped Cara up in the saddle. And she nodded in agreement. The nice and sunny weather was gone and replaced by thick, dark Clouds looming in the sky. She sincerely hoped the rain would wait for them to reach the inn before it started falling.

  
They reached the village as the first raindrops started falling. Cara could hear thunder in the distance and the wind was starting to build up to a storm. Thranduil had explained to her that this kind of weather was not the norm in Valinor. It had only occured after the orc attacks. It didn't bode well. Cara shivered. The village was a small cluster of white houses with well kept gardens, and a short main street with two shops and the inn, The White Stallion. Now the street was empty, not a single elf in sight. Cara pulled her cape closer around her body. Suddenly it was a bit chilly. Thranduil knocked on the inn's heavy wooden door, and it took a while before a tall, skinny and pale elleth opened the door.

  
"We are looking for a room.." The elleth stared at Thranduil with an expression of disgust on her face.

  
"There is no room for your kind here.." She simply stated. Her slightly nasal voice dripping with contempt.

  
"Pardon?" Cara said.

  
"I have gold enough to buy this whole inn, if needed. There is a storm coming, and if the inn is full we can sleep in the stables." Thranduil was visibly annoyed, but the elleth started closing the door.

  
"This is not a place for the perverted and morally corrupt, Thranduil Oropherion. And not for their half breed whores either. This is an establishment with class. I know who you are, and you are not welcome."

  
The elleth slammed the door shut. Thranduil looked dumbfounded.

  
"Fuck you, you stupid cunt!" Cara showed the door her middle finger, although the elleth probably had no idea what that gesture meant. The rain started falling steadily around them.

  
"We have to continue. I'm sorry Cara." Thranduil looked genuinely worried as he leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. "Maybe if we are lucky we will reach the next village before nightfall."

  
"And if they don't take us either? What if there is an orc attack coming?" Cara shivered.

  
"We can only hope for the best. Come on, let's get going."

  
They rode for two more hours and the rain kept pouring down, soaking their clothes and turning the road into a muddy mess. Each minute that passed their pace seemed to slow down, and the horses seemed ill at ease. There was not a single house in sight and Cara was shivering. The only positive thing was that the thunderstorm seemed far away inland.

  
"We need to seek shelter under some trees at least. We have to wait until the storm passes." Thranduil shouted at Cara and pointed towards a dense part of the forest. It looked anything but inviting, but she guessed he was right. The thunder and lightening were far away, and it would probably be reasonably safe to stay under the trees. Sleeping outside in the rain was not something she looked forward to though.

  
They tied the horses under a huge old oak, and found shelter near the tree trunk in a spot that was almost dry. Almost.

  
"Well, I suppose it could be worse." Cara stated and leaned against the tree trunk, she was shivering in her wet clothes.

  
"I'll see if there is something dry for you to wear in the saddlebags."

  
She nodded, but suddenly she could hear a strange noise in the woods. It sounded like a wolf howling. Thranduil had also picked up the sound, and turned around, his swords already in his hands.

  
"Keep close to the tree!" He shouted as the barking and howling grew closer. Cara grabbed a small knife she had strapped to her belt. Her heart was beating like a drum in her breast.

  
"Shit! It's a pack of wolves, isn't it?" Her voice was high pitched and shaking.

  
"No, much worse. Wargs."

  
"What.." Cara didn't have time to say anything more as she could see the grotesque face of one of their attackers. Sharp yellow fangs in a huge drooling mouth, shaggy fur and evil red eyes. She screamed and a millisecond later she was sprayed with hot black blood. She lost grip of her knife, and it flew in a wide arch into the forest. She stumbled, and fell back against the tree trunk,hitting her back hard. It hurt like hell, and for a short moment she was out of breath. In front of her, she could see Thranduil fighting for his life against the Three remaining beasts. She had never seen anyone move like him before, like a dancer with two swords. Yet, it was not enough. Somewhere deep inside her mind a voice was screaming: This is it, we are going to die!

  
She probably blacked out after that, because when she looked up again Thranduil's face was hovering above her. Part of his long hair was drenched in black blood and he had a bleeding cut on his left cheek. He looked at her with a worried expression on his face.

  
"Cara, can you hear me." He spoke slowly.

  
She simply nodded.

  
"She might have a mild concussion. I'm no healer though." She heard another, unfamiliar voice say.

  
Then a second person appeared in front of her. It was clearly an elf, with very long golden blond hair, and curiously enough a long beard, braided and adorned with gold beads. She frowned. She was pretty sure she'd heard that male elves didn't grow beards. The bearded one smiled at her and Thranduil leaned in to inspect the back of Cara's head..

  
"I'm ok, I guess. I didn't hit my head. But my back hurts like hell.." She finally said, her voice sounded as weak as she felt at the moment.

  
"That's a good thing, at least. Now try to move your arms and legs." Thranduil said, and Cara did as he asked. Her body was hurting badly, but everything seemed to work properly. She sighed with relief, and she noticed that the rain had stopped falling around them. Thranduil helped her up on her feet and she immediately closed her eyes when she saw the dead creatures and the blood around her. The stench of blood was overwhelming, and she felt like her insides were turning inside out. Both her and Thranduil were partly covered in blood. The bearded one put down his bow and looked for something in one of his pockets. He opened a small silver flask and gave it to Cara.

  
"This will make you feel better." He said and Cara drank greedily. It was probably the strongest alcohol she'd ever tasted, and it burned its way down her throat tasting like Jägermeister on steroids.

  
"Let's go. You and your wife needs somewhere to sleep tonight. It is not safe out here."

  
"She is not my wife, but the offer is appreciated." Thranduil stated rather bluntly, and for some reason his words cut deep into her heart. She swallowed. How silly was she? Of course she wasn't his wife. They were sleeping together and enjoyed hanging out. That was it, exactly the way she liked it..

  
The other elf nodded and flashed his teeth in a smile that was hard to decipher.

  
One of the horses was gone, and the other one was scared and restless. Thranduil turned his back on them and tried to calm the animal down. The bearded elf gave the flask back to Cara, who took another gulp.

  
"You saved us didn't you?" She then asked him, and he smiled again.

  
"Nah. Your friend here seemed to have the situation more or less under Control. He is an impressive warrior. I merely helped out a bit with a few arrows. My name is Dior by the way."

  
"Cara." She said and returned the flask.

  
"An unusual name." Dior put the flask back in his pocket.

  
"I'm not from around here. But thank you for helping us out." The elf nodded.

  
Thranduil came back with the horse, who seemed calmer now. Without a word he grabbed Cara by the waist and lifted her up in the saddle. Cara was still sore and her back was hurting even if the alcohol had dulled the pain a bit. Suddenly she felt a bit groggy and had to hold on to the saddle firmly not to fall off as Thranduil lead the horse through the woods. She paid little attention to what Thranduil and the other elf were doing until they reached a clearing with a small white house and a barn.

  
"Welcome to my humble home!" Dior said as Thranduil lifted Cara down from the horse. Cara gave him a weak smile, as Thranduil lead her inside the small cottage.


	38. Long Days and Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Loads of sex in this chapter.

It was late in the evening and Thranduil was sitting in the small kitchen in Dior's cottage. A fire was burning in the fireplace and a half eaten chicken rested on the table. Cara was fast asleep in the only bedroom that their host had been gratious enough to offer his guests. The older elf filled Thranduil's glass yet again with the strong liqour that he seemed to have an abundance of in his home. No fine wine in sight, but at the moment Thranduil couldn't care less. This was much more potent, and the eerie feeling he had after the warg attack was slowly giving away to intoxication.

  
"How long have you lived here on your own?" Thranduil suddenly asked. Perhaps it was a rather rude question? He was prying into another person's private life, but at the moment he cared little about what was becoming or not. He highly doubted the other elf would care anyway. He didn't strike Thranduil as the kind of person who would mind.

  
"Since forever in your eyes. I imagine." The bearded elf chuckled. "You are still very young."

  
"Hah." Thranduil emptied his glass in one swipe. "You call nine thousand years old young?"

  
"Compared to me yes. I was probably done building this very cottage as your grandfather's grandfather was still an infant. I was one of the first elves to set foot on this continent."

  
"And you have lived alone here since then?"

  
"Yes. I'm not a people person. Most people annoy me, to be honest. Can't stand listening to their constant whining about trivial things. It was better long ago when we lived under the starlight by the great lake. Naked and free. But you, you intrigue me. You are an odd one, aren't you?" The elf laughed again and refilled Thranduil's glass.

  
Thranduil smirked. He would have thrown people in the dungeon for speaking to him like that as a king, but now he only found the elf strangely likeable.

  
"You go your own way. Something that has become rare among our people." Dior said, as if he wanted to clarify that his statement.

  
"And how do you know? We met only a few hours ago."

  
"When you have lived as long as I have, you see things that others can't. You have spirit, and your choice of a wife shows that most of all."

  
Thranduil raised a dark eyebrow. Didn't the damn elf hear what he said the first time?

  
"She is not my wife. We are not bonded."

  
The old elf grinned.

  
"Oh, but you are. Maybe not fully, but partly. Do you not know it yourself, or are you in denial?"

  
Thranduil sighed, and twirled the glass in his hand. Deep down, he knew. He remembered the golden light and how his mind had touched Cara's. It felt so good, and he wanted more. So much more. Why her? He never had this problem before, and he had bedded countless women. He could not bond with her fully. He was not ready, and he might never be. And Cara, she had no concept of what the whole thing even meant. Would she even want to be his in that way? She was so young. He sat there quietly for a while, not knowing what to say.

  
The older elf observed him before he gave up on getting an answer from Thranduil. Instead, he started boiling water for tea, and cut up some bread for a late night snack. The silence didn't seem to bother him much. He silently hummed a tune and put a plate in front of Thranduil.

  
"Do not make the same mistake as I did." He suddenly said. "The elleth I loved, she was lost to me, because I thought I was not ready. She was my soul mate, but I didn't realize it before it was too late."

  
Thranduil nodded, and he wanted to ask what happened, but somehow he hesitated. The elf suddenly looked utterly miserable.

  
"Maybe you will meet her again some day? If she is reborn?"

  
"She won't be, my friend. She won't be." Dior said almost to himself, looking down at his own hands. Thranduil had no words of comfort to offer, but for some reason he felt an odd connection to the old elf. He was not safe here alone in this house in the middle of the woods. The orcs could attack at any time and his instincts told him that their meeting wasn't a pure coincidence. Perhaps the elf had an important task to fill for some reason.

  
"There is a storm coming." Thranduil finally said. "You are not safe here. Things are not the way they once were in Valinor. You should go to my house in Tol Eressea. You will be safe there for the time being at least. I'll give you a map and some gold for the journey."

  
"I'll think about your offer." Dior said. "Now let's have something to eat.."

* * *

The next morning Thranduil woke up next to Cara in the soft bed. He had slept with his clothes on. His arms were wrapped around her body and his nose buried in her soft curls. He could have stayed that way forever, and his head was slightly heavy from the alcohol consumed last night. He sighed when he realized that they needed to get going. They were still two days from Valmar. He hoped Cara was well enough to travel.

  
He kissed her neck and murmured:

  
"Cara. You need to wake up." She moaned before she opened her eyes and looked at him with a small smile on her lips.

  
"Have you been drinking?"

  
Thranduil sighed.

  
"Yes. I had a couple, quite a few really, drinks with Dior yesterday."

  
"I can smell it. I wanted some booze too, you know.." Her fingers played with his hair seductively while she was biting her lower lip. She was often horny in the mornings, but today it was not the time or place, sadly.

  
"Are you feeling ok? Your back, I mean?"

  
"I'm ok. A bit sore still, but I know we have to continue to Valmar." She sighed when she noticed he didn't seem interested in her advances. The Valar knew he was! Damn, he hadn't fucked her for days and he wanted nothing more than to flip her over and fuck her into the mattress, but there was no time for that.

  
After eating a simple breakfast in Dior's kitchen, Cara and Thranduil thanked the old elf, and Thranduil reminded him of his offer of going to Tol Eressea to stay at his house. The older elf only nodded, and Thranduil realized he simply had to wait and see if he showed up or not.

  
"Here, take Shadow. He is a good horse. You can leave him at the next inn. I know the owner, and he will take him back to me next time he travels towards the coast." Dior put the reigns of the black horse in Cara's hands. Thranduil sighed in relief, since they had lost one of their horses in the warg attack, this was most welcome.

  
"Thank you, for everything, once again." Cara said, and unexpectedly she hugged the old elf. At first Doir stiffened in her arms, but then he smiled warmly and somewhere deep inside Thranduil felt proud. Cara was so spontaneous and different from most his own people. A breath of fresh air, and all his. He was sure Dior was the kind of person who could appreciate it.

  
They rode for a whole day towards Valmar, and the weather was the usual sunny and warm, typical of Valinor. Cara seemed worried at first, but slowly she relaxed. Thranduil could hardly blame her after the warg attack yesterday. Nothing happened at all, however. They passed small farms, corn fields and wine plantations. Everything seemed calm and harmonious, but yet there were no birds singing in the sky..

  
They stopped in the evening at the next inn they found, and as Dior mentioned the stable boy immediately recognized the horse Shadow and took him in. Cara and Thranduil had no problem finding a room this time. If anyone recognized him, they didn't seem to care or didn't mind him staying there. The inn was almost full though, and they had to share a room with another couple. Another married couple the elf downstairs was careful to add. Thranduil sighed.

  
The room was very small. Two slightly larger beds and a small window with a table in front of it. One of the beds was covered with clothes and saddlebags. Cara sighed and sat down on the bed on the clean side of the room.

  
"No privacy for us tonight, then.." Cara said. Thranduil followed her example and sat down on the bed next to Cara.

  
"Tomorrow, things will be better. I promise." She sighed and he smiled and caressed her hair.

* * *

The next morning they started the journey to Valmar at dawn. It appeared to be another sunny day. Thranduil lifted Cara up in the saddle in front of him and took the reigns. If he was correct, they would reach the capital early in the evening. He knew an inn that was luxurious, and he was pretty sure the owner wouldn't turn him down because of his current bad reputation. The elf was greedy enough to offer even Sauron himself a room if the price was right.

Riding the rest of the way to Valmar on one horse was a challenge, not because it was uncomfortable, no it was because of Cara. Her warm and sinful body was pressed against him all day. Her ass rubbing against his cock made him instantly hard. Painfully hard, and she seemed to love it. He could even smell her desire for him.

  
"If you only knew what I'll do to you when we get to the inn." He whispered in Cara's ear.

  
"Believe me. I have plans for you too." Cara turned around to look at him with a wicked grin on her lips.

  
Luckily for them both it didn't take them all too long to reach Valmar, and just as Thranduil predicted the inn's owner took his money without question. The room on the third floor was the most luxurious at the whole inn. It was more like a small apartment than a room, and the interior was very extravagant with dark velvet and gold. Cara immediately opened one of the windows and leaned out to enjoy the evening sun.

  
"The city is beautiful." She said with a sigh. Her ass looked absolutely delicious when she was bent over like that. He leaned over her and sucked the sensitive tip of her ear into his mouth before biting it playfully. She moaned softly and he hauled her dress up, his large hands caressing her lovely pale ass before two of his fingers went further down to part her labia and circle her clit. She was dripping wet. He smirked and kissed her neck.

  
"Oh fuck, Thranduil. Not here." She moaned. Luckily no one down on the street paid any attention to what they were doing, but she was right. While this type of situations turned him on immensely now was not the time or place. He grabbed her waist and pulled her away from the window slamming it shut with a bang.

  
"That's better." Cara looked up at him with a small smile playing on her lips. She twirled a strand of his hair around her finger. "We came here ten minutes ago. Shouldn't we eat first and unpack?" She was such a tease.

  
"Cara, your cunt is dripping. I don't think food is what you need."

  
"Mmm, maybe." Cara reached behind her back to unclasp her dress and let it fall to the floor. She was naked underneath, and one of her hands reached his trousers. He groaned as she released his erection from the tight fabric and sunk to her knees. She looked up at him with her gorgeous green eyes as she let her tongue run along his thick length.

  
"Good girls swallow everything I give them.." He grunted and she smiled before she sucked him into her mouth and swirled her tongue around his tip. Damn, she was good. He let his head fall back and closed her eyes as Cara worked his cock with her wet and hot mouth. When he felt himself getting closer and closer to his release, he looked down at Cara again. One of her hands had reached down between her legs playing with her pussy.

  
"Fuck, Cara. So gorgeous." His own wicked little sex goddess. He grabbed a hand full of her hair and forced her to take him even deeper until she almost gagged on his cock. He didn't really mean to be this rough, but he desperately needed to come. He was so close, and he desperately fucked her mouth until he could feel his control slip and white hot pleasure took over his body. He exploded into her mouth with a loud grunt.

  
He let go of Cara's hair and she let go of his cock. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily before he looked down at her again. She was panting and a small amount of his cum dripped down her chin and further down to her breasts. He smirked and got down on the floor next to her. He lifted his hand to her chin and collected the fluid leaking from the corner of her mouth. With a grin on his lips, he shook his head.

  
"What did I tell you? Good girls swallow. They swallow everything. I Think I have to punish you for your failure, my dear." She looked at him with hungry eyes and nodded.

  
"Yes. I've been a bad girl.." She whispered.

  
Thranduil lifted her from the floor, grabbed his belt and tossed Cara on the bed. He roughly tied her hands to the bed frame above her head and she eagerly spred her legs for him as he removed his tunic. He got down on the bed, gabbed her knees and spread her legs even wider.

  
"So..How will you punish me?" Cara bit her lip and looked up at him. He slowly felt himself getting hard again. Who wouldn't with a sight like this in front of them?

  
He didn't answer her, instead he crawled over to her and leaned down to kiss her right breast. She moaned and he sucked her nipple into his mouth. He playfully bit down on it, and she arched her back. From the way she had been touching herself when she pleasured him with her mouth, she had to be desperate to come, but he would enjoy torturing her quite a bit before he gave her what she really needed. He smirked and repeated the same process on her other breast.  
After that he slowly kissed his way down her body to her flat abdomen where he licked cirkles with the tip of his tongue around her belly button. Then, he continued down to her inner thighs and finally to her mound. She was restless now. Pulling at her restrains and pushing herself closer to him as best as she could.

  
"Please, Thranduil.." She moaned almost desperately, and for a moment he let her think he gave in to her pleas, but it was only an illusion..

  
His fingers slowly parted her folds and he reached down to kiss her swollen clit. He licked it once, and then his mouth left her, and he went up to kiss her left nipple again. The groan that escaped from Cara's lips was desperate.

  
"This is what happens to bad girls." He whispered against her nipple. "They have to wait a very, very long time to come.."

  
"Fuck you!" She moaned as Thranduil repeated the same process as last time.

  
He stayed a bit longer on her belly this time, kissing it and playing with the soft skin, For a split second he imagined how it would look if she was pregnant with his child. Where did that come from? He pushed the thought away as soon as it entered his mind. He sighed against her skin and continued down to her thighs. She was moaning softly, beautifully, and this time he could not restrain himself. He let two of his fingers sink into her wet, willing cunt, and she sighed with delight. His mouth eagerly sucked her clit this time and she arched her body. Her moans turned into screams. She was always so very loud, and he loved it!

  
When he realized she was painfully close he let go of her and slipped his fingers out of her. The sounds she made were unreal and he smiled as he licked his fingers. She looked up at him, eyes clouded with lust and desperation. She was panting and her forehead covered with a Sheen of sweat.

  
"Please.. I..I want to come.. I need to.." She whined as he licked his fingers in front of her. Perhaps he should stop torturing her now?

  
He positioned himself above Cara and started rubbing his now painfully hard cock against her folds to coat himself in her juices. His tip hit her clit a few times and she shuddered under him. Finally he sank into her and started fucking her roughly from the start. She returned his thrusts as well as she could with her hands bound, and he soon found the right angle to make her scream. She came helplessly around his cock, perhaps a bit too fast for his liking, but he cared little at this point. He was lost in his own pleasure. Her screams, as her walls contracted around him, were so loud that the whole inn could probably hear her. He thrust hard into her two more times before he managed to pull out and come all over her belly.

  
He kissed Cara's sweaty forehead as he came down from his high. He released her hands from the belt and kissed her passionately on the mouth and she eagerly responded, even if she was just as tired as he was.

  
"Why didn't you come inside me, baby? You know I love it." Cara whispered.

  
He didn't answer, he simply kissed her again before he cleaned her up with a towel and pulled the covers around them. Pretty soon she was fast asleep, but he didn't seem to get any sleep no matter how hard he tried. Tomorrow would be the day when he had his audience with the king.


	39. The Healer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we meet Legolas' daughter. If you remember he has one? I Think she is only mentioned a few times in the first six chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mental breakdowns and swearing

Legolas was riding along a small and ill kept countryside road. It was hardly more than a path, and on either side the ancient trees stretched their branches over his head. There was something unnerving about this forest. It was dark, hot and damp. Everything around him a sinister dark green. No rays of sunlight reached the ground. It was covered with dead and rotting leaves.

The forest was eerily quiet and very unlike most other forests in Valinor. Legolas sighed and his horse sneezed. It sounded very loud. It was hardly surprising, and probably not a coincidence that Elrond was abducted here. It was also not surprising that all the hints he had found about Elrohir had lead him here. The creepy surroundings didn't fit the sunny landscapes of Valinor. If anything, it reminded him of certain parts of his own home, Mirkwood, in Middle Earth.

Suddenly something caught his eye. Legolas slid off his horse and walked into the trees. He leaned down. So, this was the campsite? It was clear to see that a large group of elves had camped here. He could still see traces of where the tents once stood and he found quite a few burned out camp fires. He roamed around for a while, not exactly sure what he was looking for. Obviously some trace of Elrohir being here, but the problem was that the other elf was one of the hardest people to track. Hardly surprising though, considering the life he and his brother had lived in Middle Earth.

Legolas sighed, and continued his search for clues for about haft an hour, when he finally found something. At the edge of the former camp, he found traces of a camp fire that was newer than the rest. Probably used only a day ago at most. This was it. He tied his horse to a tree and searched the area carefully. Soon he could make out where the other elf had slept on the ground. Curious. It was unlike Elrohir to be this sloppy. Maybe his friend was in a worse mental state than he had previously imagined, or perhaps he wanted to be found?

Legolas hoped the latter was the case, but one could never know for sure. If was a well known fact back home in Middle Earth that the twins seemed to balance on a thin line between rage and madness after the tragic incident with their mother, and their brutality when it came to orcs was legendary. Legolas chewed on his lip. Perhaps the disappearance of his father had finally pushed Elrohir over the edge? Legolas could hardly blame him.

It was early afternoon, and Legolas kept searching for answers. He wanted to get away from the forest as soon as possible, but he could not leave when he had finally found a clear lead about his friend. If he had to stay the night here, he would. Suddenly he wondered what his father was doing at the moment. Thranduil should be well on his way to Valmar by now, and it only made him more unsettled. His gut feeling told him something was very, very wrong..

Suddenly Legolas heard a noise behind him. His hand grabbed an arrow and put it on the bowstring.

"So, you found me.." He heard Elrohir say, and the other elf stepped out of the shadows. His voice sounded hollow, his face was pale and his clothes dirty. Along his left cheek he had a nasty cut, and he hadn't even bothered to wipe away the blood that was running down his face and neck. Legolas put down his bow and sighed.

"What happened to you, Elrohir?"

"You mean this?" The dark haired elf pointed at his cheek. "A pack of orcs happened. I killed them all, sliced them up. And I enjoyed it. One even tried to collect his own guts as he was running away…" Elrohir's laugh was hollow and lifeless. Legolas shook his head. This was not good.

"I meant, why did you run away on your own like this? Surely you know nothing good could come of this? You are lucky to be alive."

"My mother is dead, my brother is gone and my father might be dead as well. What the fuck did you think I would do? But, with the relationship you have with your father, you probably wouldn't care much if he was abducted would you? That girl, Cara would probably care more than you. Don't you think I know who her father is? It's plain to see for everyone. And Thranduil has already made her his little whore. What a fine family you are.." Elrohir shouted and Legolas was completely dumbfounded.

Never ever had he heard Elrohir talk like this. The other elf looked at him with eyes that could only be described as mad. Then he suddenly collapsed against a tree and his back slid down the trunk until he landed on the ground and started crying like a little child. Legolas shook his head and got down next to Elrohir on the ground. The other elf's forehead was covered in sweat and when Legolas touched him he was hot, like he was burning up from inside. Elves didn't have a fever, unless..

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said those things to you. I have lost everything..Everything." Elrohir whispered.

Despite that the words coming from Elrohir's mouth hurt, Legolas sighed and put his arm around his friend's shoulders and let him cry. It was odd to say the least, he had never seen one of the twins cry before, but he did what he could to comfort Elrohir.

"I think whatever cut your cheek was poisoned. We need to get away from here as soon as possible. You need a healer, a good one, and we are still far from Valmar. Where is your horse and your things?"

"The horse..He ran away when the orcs attacked."

"And when did it happen?"

"In the morning, further into the forest, almost in the same spot where my father was abducted. But it was not orcs that took him.." From his pocket Elrohir pulled a golden button. Legolas immediately recognized whom the button belonged to. The King's personal guard. He swallowed. This was not good, but neither was it surprising. Still, if Elrond was being held captive in Valmar, Legolas might know a few people who could help him free the elf lord. At least chances were good he was still alive and well.

"We have to go..Now." Legolas pulled Elrohir up on his feet.

The other elf nodded and they both got up on Legolas' horse. He knew the horse was large and strong, and he prayed he could carry them both all the way to Valmar.

* * *

After a few hours that felt long as years they finally made it to the outskirts of Valmar, but the ride had been anything but a smooth one. Along the way Elrohir started showing more and more symptoms of poisoning. At the moment he was slumped backwards against Legolas and he was sweating profusely, sometimes speaking nonsense and sometimes falling asleep.

Legolas shook his head in desperation. If he hadn't found Elrohir what would have happened then? It had been stupid and utterly reckless of Elrohir to take off on his own, and it was obvious he was not thinking clearly. If it wasn't for Legolas the other elf would have been awaiting a painful death alone in that creepy forest. Perhaps it was what he wanted? Utter stupidity! Somewhere deep inside, he thought his friend selfish. He claimed he had lost everything, but yet he had a young son waiting back on Tol Eressea. And what about his son's mother? Where was she? Elrohir had not even mentioned her once, always avoiding questions. Was she dead or had she left him for some reason? At least he had to have had some kind of meaningful relationship with her. Elves didn't have children by accident after all.

"Elrohir, you need to sit up straight. We are nearly there." The other elf coughed as they rode along the dark, empty streets. The full moon was shining down on them as they reached the large villa Legolas was looking for.

"Where are you taking me?" Elrohir's voice was raspy and hoarse.

"I'm taking you to my daughter Milwen. She is a healer. This is her house. Now, you need to get down from the horse.." Legolas helped Elrohir down, and let his friend lean on him as he banged on the heavy wooden door.

Legolas' former father in law had bought the villa for Milwen, probably out of pity more than anything. He had never liked his grand daughter's decision to become a healer, and he made no effort hiding it either. He had explained to Legolas that he had always hoped Milwen would marry some prominent lord at court and become a good and obedient wife and in that way an asset to his own career in the service of the king.

Being a healer in Valinor was not a lucrative business, that much was clear. Elves didn't get sick, and occasional broken bones and childbirths hardly paid the bills. Still being a healer was an honorable and important profession, and Legolas was proud of his daughter. She had also found another slightly surprising way to support herself; by making lotions and potions for the rich ladies in Valmar. He sighed and banged on the door again.

"I'm coming!" He heard his daughter shouting behind the door. When Milwen finally opened, she was carrying a lantern and wearing a loose night shirt. Legolas couldn't Believe how relieved he was seeing her.

"Ada?!" The tall, blonde elleth looked slightly confused.

"My friend, he needs your help. He has been poisoned by an orc weapon." Milwen nodded.

"Get him inside. When did this happen?"

As they helped Elrohir into Milwen's healing room, Legolas did his best to explain where and when the poisoning had happened. Still in his mind, the thought of Cara's friend Erica lingered. She had died of a rare orc poison that there was no antidote against in Valinor. He was no medical professional, and the way he could describe the symtoms she had shown was vague at best. Still Milwen shook her head.

"I don't think this poison is anything different from the regular orc poison, Ada. I've never treated a case before, but I've read about orc poisons quite extensively. I have everything we need to heal your friend. He is an elf after all, not human, and that makes the poisoning easier to treat." Milwen said as she cleaned Elrohir's wound on the cheek. "Now, help me get his clothes off, and get him to bed while I prepare the medicine and the ointment for the cut."

Legolas nodded and prayed to the Valar that his daughter was right. When he had helped Elrohir undress and he was safely in bed in one of the guest rooms, Milwen walked in with a tray with two goblets and a jar with a foul smelling herbal paste. She sat down and took Elrohir's hand in hers and softly said:

"Drink this. I know it tastes bad, but it will remove the poison from your system." She put the goblet to Elrohir's lips and he drank it all without any hesitation.

" It still tastes as bad as ever.." He whispered. And Legolas couldn't help but to smile, he knew that both Elrohir and his brother had been patched up by their father and each other during their orc hunting days in Middle Earth.

"Good, and now, drink this. It will help you sleep." Milwen gave Elrohir Another goblet that he drank just as swiftly and then his head fell back on the pillow.

"Sweet Dreams." Milwen said with a smile while she still held his hand.

It didn't take long before Elrohir was fast asleep and Milwen put his hand back on the duvet. She sighed and silently applied the ointment to the cut on Elrohir's cheek.

"It is better to do it when he is asleep. It stings a bit." She explained and Legolas nodded. When she was done, she washed her hands and wiped them on a clean linen towel. She carried an empty bucket to the bed and put it down next to Legolas.

"In case he wakes up and vomits." Milwen said matter of factly. "I'll go and wake my maid up to make a bed for you and some tea for us. Please watch him in the meantime. We have a lot to talk about." Legolas nodded and his daughter left the room. Indeed, they had a lot to talk about.

* * *

When Milwen came back she was carrying a tray with a tea pot, cups and some bread, butter and fruit. She put it down on a small table next to the bed and poured some sweet smelling tea in the cups.

"Here, Ada. When did you last eat something?" Milwen gave Legolas a cup of hot tea and some food on a plate. "I'm so sorry about what happened to New Imladris. How is my little brother?

"Thank you. Yes, it was a tragedy indeed. Your brother is in good hands on Tol Eressea. " Legolas took a bite of the bread, and Milwen nodded.

"What kind of mess have you and Thranduil got yourself into? Do you know my grandfather is the most hated elf in Valinor at the moment? There is a disgusting book about him circulating, did you know that? The whole city talks about him." Milwen looked at Legolas and sipped her tea. Legolas sighed.

"You haven't read that book, have you?"

"No, of course not! Nor do I wish to, but I know enough to understand what it is about."

"The thing is, it's probably all true.." Legolas didn't know where to start, but Milwen interrupted him.

"No matter if it is true or not, it can't be worse than what is going on at court, currently… I think someone is trying to blackmail Thranduil. If you have heard the court gossip you know that what Thranduil did is nothing unique. Regular people simply don't know about it, and that is what makes them outraged when they read about my grandfather's escapades. People with power however, they have mistresses and lovers and do all kinds of immoral things."

Legolas couldn't help but to chuckle quietly into his teacup.

"Well, perhaps Thranduil was very much ahead of his time.."

"It's not a laughing matter, Father! Do you know who else is the talk of Valmar at the moment? My Mother!"

"Frankly Milwen, your mother and I are divorced, and what she does or does not do is none of my concern.."

"Maybe not, but she is being courted by Lord Thalathar.."

"Really? Your grandfather must be very pleased then. Isn't Lord Thalathar the King's closest adviser?"

"Yes, he is, and he is a vile snake.."

Suddenly the gears in Legolas' head started turning. He frowned.

"In what way? I'm sorry Milwen, but the last few years I lived here in Valmar, I paid little to no attention to the what was going on at court. I was very unhappy, and stayed inside my own little bubble."

"Yes, I know." Milwen smiled and poured some more tea in Legolas' cup. "I'm sorry my Mother and my grandparents treated you poorly.."

"You have no reason to apologize on their behalf Milwen." Legolas said, smiled and took her hand in his. "And, the past is the past. Now, tell me about Lord Thalatar. Why did you call him a vile snake?"

"Because he is. At least in my opinion. People have whispered for years that he has the King wrapped around his finger. He is manipulative and cunning, but can also be very charming when he wants to be. That's why he manages to fool so many people. Let's just say that quite a few people close to the King has fallen out of favour with the King, because they disliked Thalatar. Do you see now why my grandfather is obsessed with pleasing him, and over the moon that he pays attention to my mother?"

Legolas nodded and took a bite of a peach.

"I have met Lord Thalatar on a few occasions, and there is just something about him that is not right. The way he stared at me just made my skin crawl.."

Legolas didn't know what to say. Maybe it was best to say nothing at all at this point. Still, something told Legolas that he might be a step closer to the truth than before. Or maybe not...

"What does Lord Thalatar look like?" Legolas vividly remembered Galadriel's description of the elf who had used mind control on her daughter, and as Milwen started describing Lord Thalathar it all fit in nicely. The possibility it presented was unnerving to say the least. Still, he could not be sure, he needed more evidence. His heart started beating faster.

"Milwen. I want you to leave the city as soon as possible. Take your maid with you and travel to Tol Eressea to Thranduil's house. You will be safe there for the time being at least. Your little brother will depend on you if anything happens to me. Please do as I say." Legolas heard how desperate he sounded, but he had never spoken truer words in his life. Milwen needed to get away from the city.

Milwen looked at Legolas as if he was crazy.

"Father, what is really going on? You sound like the World is coming to an end.."

"Please, do not ask. The less you know at this point, the better."

"But the Orcs? Is it safe to travel? And besides, I am not leaving until your friend here is completely healed. It is my duty as a healer. And, what about Mother? I care for her, you understand that, don't you."

Legolas sighed, and had no idea what to say. His former wife had probably chosen sides already, knowingly or not.

"Travel only by the main roads, travel daytime, and seek shelter immediately as you see any sign of thunder or rain in the sky.. Please Milwen. I beg you. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you. Take your bow and your arrows. You know very well how to use them."

Milwen looked at him oddly and shook her head. Suddenly Elrohir coughed in his sleep and Milwen ran over to the bed to take a look at her patient. Legolas' thoughts were all over the place. If Thalathar was really the elf that was in league with the Dark Lord, Thranduil was in great danger, and probably Cara as well. They might be walking straight into a trap. Elrond being kidnapped by the Royal guard was just another sign that pointed to Lord Thalathar. If he had the power to have mind control over a girl far away, it was no wonder the king was wrapped around his finger. The king was probably just a mindless puppet at this point. Legolas shivered. If he only knew how he could warn Thranduil, but he had no idea where his father would be staying or if he had arrived in the city already.


End file.
